Wear a Mask
by ThatSassMaster
Summary: I'd always dreamed about being in the Magical World. I should have realized exactly what I was asking for. Politics and classes; being the perfect daughter. I didn't count on being caught between friends or losing anyone important. I should have known. (SI) ((Pairings to be decided on later))
1. One

**Disclaimer:** I definitely don't own Harry Potter. I think we all know my name isn't J.K Rowling, sooooo...

AN: _I definitely shouldn't be writing any of this. I should definitely be focusing on my other story, but this would NOT leave my head. Don't except any updates until after next week. I should be done with finals then. However, if anyone is interested in being a Beta for me, feel free to let me know via PM!_

* * *

It never occurred to me to look both way while crossing the street in college. This fundamental lesson that was drilled into my mind when I was five years old, for some reason, disappeared from my mind thirteen years later. I was so sure that busses and cars were going to stop for me that I didn't bother to look. I didn't bother to strain my ears and see if there was anyone coming. With headphones in, I was too busy listening to Nick Jonas' latest single to bother looking.

I was the center of my universe. I had my entire life to look forward to – which, for me, included a philosophy class then a five minute walk to my statistics class. I was the future of the world; I was aiming for a degree in business. I could have been a mom, a CEO, I could have been the president. I was invincible.

But, when a boy with curly brown hair is turned towards his blond friend in the passenger seat and didn't see me coming, he didn't stop. When a white Ford F-250 that weights about 5,600 pounds, plus the 410 pounds that came from the boys, doesn't stop, I am not the center of the universe. I am an obstacle. I do not have my entire life to look forward to. I am not going to be the leader of the free world. I will not be a mother. Do you know what I'll be?

Dead.

Or, so I thought.

* * *

I wasn't dead immediately. I wanted to be, but wasn't that lucky. I could hear the guys screaming and asking if I was still alive. I briefly saw a boy's face over my own. My left hand twitched, and I was aware I was crying. He grabbed my hand.

"It's okay to let go."

So, I did. I let go and drifted off to sleep. The next thing I knew, I was warm.

I can't tell you how painful those first few weeks were, or really what went on in them. I'm not entirely sure. I can't tell you that I could control anything, or that the twitches of my body were through my own conscious movements. They weren't. I'm not even sure when, for sure, when the first movement really occurred. I'm not sure I could tell you when, exactly, I became aware of the fact that there was _someone_ across from me.

I can tell you that, even without my eyes open, I could reach out. There wasn't enough space for the two of us. We'd bump against each other, constantly push, kick, and punch each other. I could feel their hands all over me, and mine would reach out for them, too. I could feel what I used to know were kisses pressed against different parts of me, like my shoulder. For reasons I really can't explain to you, I felt myself doing the same, like their ear. More often than not, our hands would latch together.

This other..._thing_ and I were really close. Every once in a while, I could kind of see what was in front of me. A person, I think. I could hear heartbeats and muffled sounds.

It took me far longer to realize just _where_ I could be. Even longer to accept it. Luckily for me, I had enough time to come to term with it.

* * *

I'm not entirely sure if my birth was supposed to be extremely traumatic. I suppose I'm lucky in the sense that, for me and the baby next to me, we were lucky to have a cesarean section. I'm not the first one out. The baby next to me is grabbed away. I feel big hands, but I feel the absence of a hand about my size holding on to mine more. For the first time in nearly nine months, I have the womb to myself. When I do feel the hands grab on to my legs and pull me out, I open my mouth in silent screams.

They became much more vocal once I was put in the arms of someone else. I could hear the other baby screaming still. Taking from their cue, I started crying hysterically, too. I could hear the doctors talking – "A boy and a girl" – so I could only assume that the other baby was a boy.

* * *

We are always together, my brother and I. Theodore Nikolas and Dorothea Medeia; from the moment that we were born, we slept in the same crib. The lady, who I could only assume was our mother, - but that was wrong. My mom had wavy brown hair and brown eyes, not black ringlets and blue eyes - never wanted to put us down. The nurses would take us when she'd fall asleep. I never saw my father - my dad was tall and big. When he'd kiss my cheek, his mustache would always scratch my face - but mother told us about him. He was working for someone. He'd be here as soon as he could be.  
He never showed up, at least not at the hospital. Considering we were twins, I could only assume that Theodore and I were born probably sooner than the doctor - Healer Aksoy, my mother would say with all the soothing nature of her voice somehow leaving - would have liked. She was still visibly weakened, although very pretty.

It was very mortifying to realise that you have little to no control over your body. I would cry more out of embarrassment than anything else whenever I needed to be changed. Still, I did my very best to only cry when necessary. Well, except for when I realised how they were changing us. I'd realized that I was now born into a British family. I could understand the language, so I knew it was English; what really settled it in was the accent. I knew that, but I didn't really grasp what world I had been born into - what was going on. As disconcerting as it was to realize that I had no control over my bowel function, it was more surprising than anything to realize that the nurses only had to wave a _stick_ for me to be clean once more.

A _stick_. A _wand_.

When Theodore and I were finally allowed to leave the hospital - _St. Mungo's_, mother's tone was both disgusted and grateful - we met our father. The man was older than I had expected for him to be. Mother looked relatively young in comparison - at least by five or so years. He was definitely not affectionate. He took one look at her when she arrived, letting his eyes take her in once before looking down at Theodore and I. It was as if he was appraising us. After he deemed us satisfactory enough, he nodded and dismissed my mother. He claimed he had somewhere to go. With a loud pop, he disappeared. It took me a second after Theodore started wailing to follow in his example.

"Vaniel!" She cried, desperate to sooth us.

I calmed down a lot faster than he did with her bouncing. Perhaps that was why she handed me over so easily to the creature. Vaniel had big bat-like ears. Her nose was the size of a grape tomato. Her eyes were huge and blue, but a diluted blue. I'm not entirely sure what she was wearing - it looked like a tea rag. She looked very small standing next to my mother, but still bigger than both Theodore and I. I definitely stopped crying when I looked at her. If I had any qualms about what world I lived in, they were definitely gone by the time my mother handed me to Vaniel.  
I think we were supposed to have had two separate rooms, my brother and I. Unfortunately, that hadn't worked for my mother. We had spent nearly nine months together. Despite my longing for independence, I couldn't help but feel odd when my brother wasn't around me. We cried long and hard when we were separated. I always felt as if I couldn't help it. Something about Theo being unpleased made me want to cry.

My mother, too, was almost as constantly around me as Theodore was. If either of us were fussy, she would peek over our crib. She would lull us to sleep with songs and soft touches. If it were light out, she would feed us. I don't blame her for having Vaniel - or Sidhien, although Sidhien was a male house-elf and not nearly as nice as Vaniel - feed us and clean us at night. I'm sure it must have been difficult for her, but she always tried to hold on to us both. I could still remember my old mother, but Amaltheia, as my mother was named, tried her best. I couldn't help but be endeared to her as I was to Theo.

An Everything that I did, it was a fraction after he would instigate it. I assume that both of us were odd, however, because we rarely ever cried. Maybe he was taking cues from me, though. We switched off a lot. Theo learned to crawl faster than I did, but I said the first word ("Mama" so that her face would light up). I potty trained first, but he was walking and running far faster than either of us could. He would try to take me with him. His hand would always flail for me to take it before he started anywhere. It was just harder for me to keep up.

It shouldn't have been, but it was.

There were still words both of us messed up on, but, at least, by the time that we were three years old we no longer had to have Vaniel or Sidhein trailing after us to make sure we didn't fall or get hurt. Nott Villa was gigantic. Far bigger than I had thought when I was carried everywhere, but it was. Theo and I ("Thea", or so he'd call me) toddled along after Mama all the time. Sometimes, she would take us to parties and social gatherings. It wasn't said outright, but there was a general feeling that she didn't belong at these gatherings.

It was at said gatherings that I learned exactly where I was. Of all the times to be born, it _would_ be in the same year as Harry Potter. How did I know this? At said parties, we happened to make the acquaintance of one Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. Theo and I had had small lessons, more like reprimands from Mama, about how to behave. We were quite. We bowed and curtseyed when introduced to new people. Mama had it in her mind to dress us up in small robes we'd constantly trip over, so we didn't move around very much.

This was not acceptable behavior to Draco and Pansy, who constantly sought to tear us apart. From Draco's view, I suppose now that the adults had moved out of the way, Theodore was a boy and should play with him and the other boys - Blaise Zabini and two other boys that were introduced as Gareth Vaisey and Cameron Harper who seemed a little older than Blaise and Draco. Meanwhile, Pansy was adamant that I join her, the Greengrass sisters, and the Carrow twins in having a tea party. It took a while, but we did eventually separate from one another.

I did find that I quite liked Daphne, but didn't care much for the rest of them. Daphne was quiet, almost as quiet as I was, but her sister definitely was not. Despite being two, Astoria constantly babbled and spoke as if she knew everything. Pansy, likewise, took charge of the group when neither Daphne nor I would. They went on and on about different robes and lessons that their parents had them take. I knew Theo and I would be a little behind, but, as they went on and on listing everything out, I couldn't help but feel we were ages behind the rest of our group.

The boys weren't quite running around making a mess of things, but they were playing a sort of game that looked like freeze tag. Theodore was not having a good time - not by the way he scrunched up his nose when one of the other boys would knock him down. He was definitely not the physical type. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, despite Harper protesting, and brushed himself off. He said something cooly to them and strode over in our direction. Pansy was not pleased when he offered his hand to me, but I took it easily and excused myself as politely as I could.

Mama looked more ready to leave the group than either of us were. She, too, did not seem to like the other wives - or, I was right in my prediction that they didn't like her. The only one who seemed to be even a smidgen ready to speak to her at all was Lady Greengrass. She took one look at us and excused herself, claiming that we looked much too tired to continue on for long, and that I had previously been battling a cold.

"It would be terrible if she got sick again."

I'm not sure why I did it, but I couldn't help but somewhat help my Mama's story. I coughed a little into my hand and hid behind my Mama's leg, as if embarrassed.

It was years before she took us to another little gathering. By the time she did, we were more than ready to handle Malfoy and Parkinson.

* * *

AN: So, as usual, let me know what you think! This starts off really slow, but I've never done children before, soo...The title means "Death and Birth". Theodore's name means 'Gift of God' and 'Victor' whereas Dorothea's means 'Gift of God' and 'Cunning' for reasons that will later be explained.


	2. Two

**Disclaimer:** I definitely don't own Harry Potter. I'd sob at this fact, but...I think J.K Rowling did a better job than I ever would~

AN: _Well, this turned out to be a little harder to write than I would have thought, but this is wonderfully looked over by_ **GetWithIt**.

* * *

"What you doing?" Theo whines, peering up at me over my bed. He grabs the edges and pulls himself up. I move over just a little so that he can plop down and lay on the giant pillow beside me. He rubs at his eyes and curls up next to me.

"Are." I correct him, absently.

"What are you doing?" He repeats, reaching out to turn the page of the book.

"Reading."

"Read to me," Theo commands.

I do. The funny thing is that wizarding tales are extremely similar to their muggle counterparts. Father would lock me in my room if I ever said that out loud, but they are. I've come to notice this as Mama tucks us each into bed. Despite having all of the left wing to ourselves, Theo and I share a room. We didn't when we were younger - Mama would have Vaniel try to separate us - but we snuck to each other's room so often that Mama grew tired of panicking after not finding one of us where we were supposed to be. Now, she's given up on keeping us apart.

I tell him the story of the Sleeping Witch. He doesn't roll his eyes at the part where the good pureblood prince is dancing around the forest with the pureblood princess, but I can feel the annoyance radiating off of him. He's more interested in the part where the prince saves the princess from the evil mudblood witch. He doesn't make it to that part of the story. I barely get there when I find my eyes getting heavier. Theo's head drops onto my shoulder. I shut the book and shove it to the side, carefully ignoring how the size of the book is bigger than my lap is. I try to pull myself up and gently move his head away from me and onto the pillow, but I wince. His hand has somehow tangled itself up in my hair.

I sigh in resignation and reach over to grasp his shirt. Mama doesn't let Theo's hair grow out, so I can't tangle my fingers up in it like he does to me, but I do cling to him. I'm pretty sure I had siblings in my first life. I remember a boy and a girl, both older than me. We weren't that close. They were a lot older than I was. Maybe that was why it is both weird and endearing that Theo and I do almost everything together. Even if we don't always hold hands, we're always together. If I'm not right behind him, he looks around the villa until he can find me.

I can't explain it, but I don't like to be separated from Theo, either. I don't feel right when he's not close to me. I'm more prone to...accidents. Accidental magic, that is. When Theo isn't around to keep me stabilized, things have a bad habit of flying across the room. It drives Vaniel crazy, and I'm sure that Sidhien isn't too fond of me, either. I need Theo beside me, he's my measuring stick and my friend. I'm much better at the lessons, but I'm not nearly as good socially as he is. According to Mama, my etiquette is atrocious.

Kyrios Kosta - Mister Kosta, that is - is the tutor that Mama hired to fix that. Each lesson, we sit at two incredibly cute desks that he's conjured up. Every time I see it, I'm more and more enthralled by magic. There is nothing like it. Even though mine is accidental, the euphoria that hits me when it catches me off guard is better than any alcohol or adderall I used to take. When he's not performing feats of magic, Kyrios Kosta is very boring, all things considered. Or, maybe, it's what I'm doing that's boring. I already know how to write. I already know how to form grammatically correct sentences. I know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide. Reading things aloud is difficult with my clumsy tongue, and turning the pages is annoying with stout fingers. It's harder to hold a quill than it is to hold a pencil or a pen. The amount of ink stains that Theo and I have is ridiculous.

"The magical community is very separate from the Muggle one." Kyrios Kosta starts, crossing in front of the two of us.

We're each seated at a desk, staring up at our tutor very intently, quills in hand. Mama had to go leave, once, and bring bag a different quill and inkwell for Theo. His handwriting improved significantly afterwards. (It still kind of looked bad, but mine did, too.)

"This is due mainly to the fact that muggles cannot be trusted with the knowledge of magic. Can either of you tell me why?"

The two of us glance at each other before Theo nods and turns back to face him, blank faced.

"They aren't worthy." I say matter of factly, like I'm telling him that the sky is blue. "They don't see magic for it's power. They think it's evil and have tried to kill us because of it..."

"Only," Theo continues, picking up where I left off. "We're too powerful. Their aff-efforts? were useless..."

"Muggle children have been burned at the stake and drowned, accused of being magical."

"In fact, the only magical beings they ever succeeded in killing were muggleborn children who'd done accidental magic in front of them."

"In some cases, the Muggles tried to use us for our strength."

Theo and I are taught a great number of things: English and grammar, maths, biased magical history, art, singing, and reading music, as well as Greek and some Latin. I was never much of a singer in my past life, so it's weird to me that Mama requires both Theo and I to be familiar with some of the older, classical songs. Not only that, but we are required to play at least two instruments. Theo is instructed on the cello and the piano by Kyrios Kosta, while I focused on the clarinet and violin.

We are terrible. Whoever thought that teaching children to play instruments was a good idea, they were idiots. Theo's fingers can't quite reach all the keys, so he is more prone to hitting the wrong note and slamming his fists down on the keys if he can't get it to sound just right. Not only that, but his frustration has his magic popping all the strings from his cello. I'm definitely not much better. You'd think being about 21 would help me control my own emotions, but that is definitely not the case. I know I should be patient. I know I shouldn't blow a gasket, but when my clarinet doesn't stop squeaking, I try to find extremely clever places to hide the stupid thing so I don't have to practice it.

Sidhien does not get enough credit, really. Father smacks him around all the time and tells Sidhien to punish himself for the littlest of mistakes, but that stupid house elf always manages to find my hiding places.

Mama thinks so as well because she normally tells us after our lesson. She tells us to be more patient - that it is undignified for "good little children" like us to take away from our intelligence by having ink smudges everywhere or hiding our instruments. I like when she does that - when she explains things to us rather than scolding us. Father isn't like that in the slightest, and I'm embarrassed to admit the amount of times I've cried in Mama's arms when he pinches my upper arm and scolds me for doing something that brings him embarrassment.

In my defense, I still have trouble controlling myself. I'm used to taking steps that are much bigger and reaching for things that should be in reach. I didn't mean to drop the cup when Vaniel handed it to me.

I used to love to play around. I would play soccer and roll around in the dirt. There was nothing that made me feel better then running down the field with my teammates and have my hair up in a sweaty knot - to not have to wear makeup and worry about what other people thought of me. It is so different, now. Mama and Father expect nothing but the best from us. I'm not allowed to play outside. If I didn't have a playdate with one of the other pureblood children, then I read a book or studied something Kyrios Kosta left for us.

Another thing that had changed drastically is how we eat. I used to grab whatever was convenient, or stuff whatever food was at home in my mouth before rushing off. Here, we are expected to dress to impress, even if it was just Mama and Father. (Usually, it's just Mama.) Theo and I have to be careful about going down the stairs. They're constantly polished by Sidhien, which means that we had to walk extremely slowly or risk falling down. (That was something Mama had told Kyrios Kosta - apparently, the Macmillan boy had magicked their own staircase into a sort of slide. She considered it extremely scandalous, especially because they had guests over at the time.)

Dinner is a very formal occasion, at any point. Vaniel irons our robes and make sure we have our baths. She dresses us quickly. Theo's ready by that point, but the house elf has to do something about my hair. I can't quite remember what it used to look like, but I know that, now, it is a wavy dark brown. I don't know who I got it from, especially since because both of my parents have dark hair. I do know, however, that Theo and I share more features with Mama than we do with Papa, and it is not something he particularly likes.

Not if his snide little comments give us any indication.

When Father is in, he sits at the very end of the table. Mama sits to his right and is always much more subdued than when he's not around. I like these dinners, though, because I get to sit right next to Theo, and, even though we don't really get to see each other's facial expressions, we can still understand what the other is feeling. Neither of us have an easy time sitting down. I manage it better than he does. We're both at a normal height, according to the healers Mama takes us to, but we're still short.

Today is one of the days that Father is here, and he doesn't look happy. Sidhien sets the table as Vaniel comes around and serves Mama, me, Theo and Father in that order. Father is given a soup today, and my stomach turns because of it. I don't mind Cream of Artichoke, but Theo's never liked it. He hates the smell and loathes the taste of it even more. He gets a salad, like me and Mama. Sidhien grabs the plates almost as soon as we're done with them, and then Vaniel comes with the course: Chorizo stuffed leg of lamb.

"Your tutor tells me you're both progressing quickly." Father says minutes into the meal.

I feel a sort of panic surge in my stomach and snap my head up at him quickly.

"Yes, Father." Theo answers dutifully, giving me a look out of the corner of his eye.

"Dorothea, he also says that you have been having some interesting discussions."

It's not a question, and I'm not entirely sure what he's asking, but I give him a slight nod and lowered my head just a little. "We've, uhm, been recently speaking about why muggles aren't worthy of magic."

His eyes narrow a fraction as he leans forward, looking at me carefully. I try very hard not to gnaw on the corner of my mouth and smile as best I can. It matters very little that my father and I are about the same age, mentally. The fact is that he is much bigger than I am and much more powerful. He nods, supposedly satisfied.

He sits back, looking wholeheartedly bored with us all over again.

Father doesn't interact with us much, although he does speak to Theo more than to me. He doesn't like me much. I've heard him call me 'the spare' to Mama several times. As far as I can tell, he doesn't like many things. He hates being embarrassed, which is why Mama, Theo and myself stay inside the Villa more than we go to anywhere. He is very serious and very sarcastic, at least to us. I imagine he's charismatic outside, seeing as he leaves to 'pay a visit' to his friends often. He's an elitist who sneers whenever "new money" tries to get in with him. That's why, I assume, he disappears when Kyrios Kosta is instructing us; that's why he was looking for our response.

Mama, on the other hand, is the opposite. Since she doesn't go out much, she talks mostly to Theo and I. Occasionally, she'll squabble with Vaniel and Sidhien. She is very open, and doesn't mind when she does something silly in front of us. It's true that she's pretty tough and expects a lot from us, but she doesn't mind when we mess up. As opposed to father, who would pinch us or punish us, she laughs and tells us not to do it again. She smiles, laughs, and sings for us. She helps us with our homework if Kyrios Kosta assigns it - and, often, he does.

That's why it made everything so much harder.

* * *

AN: Alright, let me know what you guys think. Feedback is greatly appreciated. Title of this chapter means: "Do this, not that."


	3. Three

**Disclaimer:** I definitely don't own Harry Potter...or the universe...because I think we can agree that I would make it focus on the purebloods, haha.

AN: _I'm not sure how I managed to write anything decent without_ **GetWithIt**_looking over it, but somehow I did. Thanks a billion for looking over this! Also thanks for the _**15 **_follows, the _**10**_ favorites, and the _**257**_ views. I know that's pretty rare outside of stories under 30K._

* * *

Theo and I turn six on February 15th, 1986; I'm to turn twenty-four a month and a half later. Being six is much easier the second time. It's simpler to remember things I wouldn't have been able to in my last lift - like all the rules for the different languages. To be fair, Kyrios Kosta always casts the language charm on us before we start our lessons. There are still a couple of words that are difficult, but they're very few and the list grows smaller with every lesson. Theo, likewise, does infinitely better. Though he still has moments when his attention starts to wane, he vies for more notice, and he beams childishly when Kyrios Kosta or Mama pay him a compliment.

Our paternal grandparents are dead. Father won't talk about it, and Mama either doesn't know the whole story or is reluctant to share it with two six year olds. Luckily for us, our maternal grandparents are still alive. Giagia Dareia and Pappous Kadmus are very fun to be around, society considering. They are extremely strict and obviously expect a lot from both of us, yet still somehow find a way to be doting at the same time.

Giagia Dareia is the type who will almost always find something to criticize. For example, my hair is too wavy, I have a mouth on me, and I don't seem to grasp that staring is impolite. Theo, on the other hand, is too emotional, doesn't necessarily speak up when he should, and is behind me in our studies. Despite this, she is incredibly affectionate and loving. Almost immediately after a criticism, she'll give us a hug. Pappous Kadmus, for his part, does that trick where he pulls a galleon from behind our ears. He also likes to 'secretly' give us candy, though Giagia Dareia almost always notices.

Pappous Kadmus was once the dueling champion of Greece and taught the subject at Plato's Academy of Magic. He retained the position for twenty straight years. It's actually because of him that Theo and I were able to get our wands so early. He scoffed at the thought of getting it at Ollivanders.

"No _engoni _of mine will get a wand from _that_ half-blood."

There is bad blood between them, apparently. Giagia Dareia claims that it is completely one sided. Mama is adamant that we can only learn certain spells until we're older, and then we can only practice them if Kyrios Kosta and Pappous Kadmus are around to specifically instruct us. My wand is nine and a half inches, rowan, and has a piece of boggart skin. It's also pretty inflexible, as opposed to Theo's. His is also nine and a half inches, oleander, and has a fragment of chimaera scale. Because we have our wands, we're the envy of all the other children. Now that we're six, we are often expected to attend play dates with several prominent pureblood children.

This is when it becomes extremely, painfully obvious that Mama is obviously not from England because she does make a couple of embarrassing mistakes. Mama and Father argue about it all the time, but, well, Mama is eccentric. She doesn't particularly care if you're old blood or new blood, if you're rich or poor, if you're Dark or Light. All Mama cares about is that your blood is pure. After meeting Giagia Dareia and Pappous Kadmus, I can see why she leans that way. Plato's Academy works much differently than Hogwarts. The rumor is that they only accept purebloods, but Pappous says that's a lie.

"The ones that are accepted come from prestigious families. _I̱míaimos_, I'm sure, would get in if they had the right connections."

If there was one thing that the Nott family had, it was definitely connections. Father seemed to know just about every "prestigious" pureblood in England, and, through Mama, a handful or so in Greece and Italy. If it were up to me, I'd rather stay with Giagia and Pappous. At least then the conversations I'd have would be somewhat intelligible conversation, if not 'simplistic' so I'd understand. Most of our peers either stare at me if I try to start a creative conversation because they don't understand, or laugh off my attempts because I'm 'younger' than them. If it weren't for Theo, I'm certain I would have gone off the deep end.

* * *

Lavender Brown is an extremely annoying six year old girl. She laughs loudly and wears odd clothes, for a pureblood. She has curly hair that falls to her shoulders and is apparently fond of dragging me around her room.

"What do you want to do!" The blonde beams brightly.

I glance around the room, noting everything she has. "We could play dolls?" I don't play with dolls. Mama has gotten me some of the nicer ones that you can change into different robes, but I only ever 'play' with them when she first gives them to me. Then, they go back into their boxes and aren't touched. Lavender, Lav as she insists we call her, plays with hers very often.

"I love playing dollies." She takes one for herself, brushing the hair back lovingly before rummaging through the chest where she keeps them all.

Theo is promptly given the boy doll, although he stares at it then back at her with an expression that clearly screams he doesn't want to play, but is too polite to actually say it aloud.

"Ours are married now!" She says happy, pushing Theo towards where she has a little table set up.

I'm tempted to leave, but he casts a look over his shoulder at me.

'_...not leaving...help me._'

It's not the first time that I've heard this. Sometimes, when one of us is feeling some strong emotion, we can sort of hear what the other is thinking. Every time it happens, it leaves me more than a little curiosity, and I wonder if our connection doesn't have something to do with it.

So, I grab Lavender's most impressive doll and trail after the two of them. Lavender has us sit down at a table and serves us - and our dolls - some tea. She talks loudly and enough for all three of us.

"We're gonna have 3 kids, all girls." She beams at Theo. "And, Dory is gonna be their aunt and take care of them all the time while we go out."

My brother pales considerably, frowning at her. "She doesn't like to be called Dory."

It's Lavender's turn to frown now. Her pale cheeks flush with what looks like rage, but it's gone the next second. Instead, it's replaced with a giant smile as she peers at me. "What do you liked to be called?"

"Dorothea." I don't look at her, choosing instead to focus on the doll I have with me. I have one just like it back in Nott Villa. Mine still has the original silver robes, however. Lavender's does not. Instead, hideous orange ones that fit too big are draped over that are obviously too big.

"Why?" I can hear the pout in her voice, but I look up to make sure anyway.

"Only Theo can call me anything else."

"Why?" I think those look like tears in her eyes.

I open my mouth to say something - we can't have her crying, but Theo speaks faster than I do.

"Because, I'm her brother." He looks so smug about it that I can't help but take the blame for it later when Mama asks us why Lavender was crying. In our defense, her emotions were all over the place.

* * *

I'd gladly take Lavender over Vincent Crabbe, however. Despite our best attempts, he rarely speaks to us. Even if we're particularly slow in our endeavors, he stares and grunts at us, uncomprehensively.

"What do you like to do?" Theo tries.

The boy grunts.

"Do you know any games you might want to play?" I ask pragmatically.

This time, he shrugs.

"Do you like Quidditch?"

Theo doesn't like the sport, but that should just show how desperate he's become. Vincent is an overweight brute that neither of us like very much. Our playdates with him aren't very interesting. We don't do much of anything except wander around the gardens in their backyard or play with some of the games he owns in the dining room. He is not the type of boy who likes puzzles. Theo's trying several ways to come up with a conversation for them to have. It's not turning out very well.

He grunts again.

'_Dear Morgana, why?_' I frown in frustration, sitting down and giving up.

I do catch Theo's thoughtful head tilt, though.

* * *

Miles Bletchley is funny in a way that Mama probably wouldn't approve of. He's crude and sarcastic; something I find odd coming from a nine year old. He's also pretty smart - certainly smarter than any of the other children I've been around. I meet him by accident; we're supposed to be having a play date with Marcus Flint, who is ten. Adrian Pucey is here as well, ignoring both me and Miles in favor of passing a Quaffle around back and forth with Flint. Theo is currently playing piano for Lady Flint, per the request of Mama. I just came from there and performed _Violin Concerto in D Minor_ by Jean Sibelius. I think it might have been the first time that Father's looked proud of me.

I'm swinging, trying to be careful. I'm wearing periwinkle colored robes, and Mama would be furious if I got anything on them. I don't scream when I feel hands on my back, but I can't help the giggles. I glance over my shoulder, and Miles smirks back at me. I beam at him as best as I can and swing my legs.

'_Where...you...done playing._'

It's still difficult to do, but every once in a while I swear that I can hear Theo in my head. I try to reach out to him,

'_I'm here. I'm on the swing._'

I feel the grip of the swing swings under my hands tighten and Miles pulls back on the rope. I jerk backwards, just managing to catch my grip. My back hits against his chest as he slows the swing down long enough for me to be able to get down.

"Having fun, princess?" He laughs and pulls back on the swing as far back as he can go.

"I'm not a princess." I tell him haughtily, but I have to admit (if just to myself) that I sort of am. "Can you go higher?"

He laughs like I'm an amusement to him. He gives a couple of more pushes before Theo makes an appearance, and Flint and Pucey call Miles over to try to block their shots. He's apparently the Keeper. He opens his mouth, as if to tell them that he's busy when I dig my shoes into the ground to slow down.

"It's okay, Miles." I hop off the swing and head off in the direction of my brother.

"Yeah, Miles! The princess says it's okay!" Adrian howls and Flint laughs.

I reach Theo and find him staring at the broomsticks the way that I look at them. Theo is just as afraid of heights as I am, although for different reasons. He fell off a broom when he was five and would have crashed into the ground if the surge of panic that I had swelling up in me hadn't caused me to extend my hand out and hold him. My scream alerted Mama to what was going on, and she safely lowered him to the ground.

That's why Theo doesn't like the sport, although he knows everything about it enough to carry on a conversation with someone. When all else fails, it's a pretty good subject to go back to if the conversation is slow. We head back to the swings and somehow find a way for both of us to fit on it. We watch them until Mama and Father call us back to them.

The nickname sticks.

* * *

Neville Longbottom and Ernest Macmillan are cute. They call themselves purebloods, but they act very little like the rest of us, except Brown. Macmillan, perhaps, is closer to our level. He already has a fraction of the tutors that we have and is required to have lessons. Most of his governors divide their time between him and that stupid, pompous blond Malfoy. Not to say that Macmillan isn't pompous as well, but he lacks the sneer and the superiority complex that Malfoy embodies.

The first thing he said once we got away from the adults and introduced each other was, "My family can trace our lineage back _nine_ generations."

Only nine, as if that were such an accomplishment. It's such a shame that Great Granduncle Cantankerous Nott included them in the Sacred Twenty-Eight, which has been greatly diminished. It wasn't as though Macmillan could trace his lineage as far back as other, better families. The Longbottoms are also included in the list, although many consider the recent generations to be blood traitors. I'm not sure if Mama knew this before bringing us over. We're probably lucky that Father wasn't home.

Neville Longbottom is adorable, really. We've been here for a couple of minutes, and he has yet to say anything to us. His grandmother is an absolute nightmare. Mama can't really take us away even though I could see the way her mouth twisted unhappily in the corners when she first saw what the woman had on. Mama wears the latest robes from London, Milan New York and Paris. They're form-fitting and often in soft colors that compliment her looks. Mrs. Longbottom - she doesn't like to be referred to as Lady - did not get her robes from any of the fashion capitals. She had on a horrid brown robe that was too broad in the shoulders and made her look like a square. Not only that, but, as we walked in, there was a hat hung on the back of a chair that had a stuffed vulture glued on.

Mrs. Longbottom doesn't mind us being out and about. I guess I'm lucky that Mama let us know where we were headed after our lessons today, or it's likely I would have brought Father's gift with me. Father's gift is a book that I found horrifying to start, but ended up liking. _Mudbloods and How to Spot Them_. It's mostly humorous, and Father expects Theo and I to read a chapter a day and discuss it with him at dinner and answer any and every question he has for us. It no doubt would have offended Mrs. Longbottom's sensibilities.

"Do you like Quidditch?" Theo asks duly, and it occurs to me that this has become his default question whenever he can't be bothered to come up with anything else.

Ernest isn't here, so Neville doesn't have anyone to hide behind. He's gone inside to try to find his bag and pull out one of the books he brought with him. He wants to prove that he's just as advanced as we are.

"N-not really." His voice is quiet, and he's not meeting either of our gazes.

Theo's face, of course, lights up. "_Finally_. Me neither." He claps Neville on the back, almost knocking the slightly younger boy forward.

"What do you like?" I take this opportunity to ask him instead of letting my brother dictate the conversation.

Neville bites the inside of his cheek before flushing and averting his eyes to his shoes now. "I like plants?"

I see a look flash in identical blue eyes, and I can hear his disapproval. ('_Great...so boring.'_) I guess I'm lucky that he said this in his head rather than out loud. I'm pretty sure that Neville would physically deflate.

'_Be nice._' I scold him.

"There's nothing wrong with that." I say this really firmly, noting that Ernest is coming back. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, alright, Longbottom?"

I should have known that what I said would be taken out of context. We see more of Neville after that, but rarely at Longbottom estate.

* * *

For every couple of meetings that we had with boys, we also had a couple with girls. Theo's almost always excused for these, and he disappears fast into his own room. The only time he hadn't been was with Lavender Brown. Most of the time, the girls come over here and I have to entertain them with _great manners_ and a _smile_.

And I am, under no circumstances, allowed to Muggle fight. Not only is it far beneath me, but Mama assures me that there are better ways to get Pansy Parkinson to shut up. I think Mama's a little upset that we're not best friends, but I can't _stand_ that little girl. I'm not the only one, either. We're all smiles when the adults are around, but the moment they leave us alone, I'm in the corner with Millicent Bulstrode and Daphne Greengrass as Parkinson is on the opposite side with Astoria Greengrass and the Carrow twins. Every once in a while, there will be other girls in and about, like the Patil siblings and MacDougal. There are even a couple of older girls occasionally.

Alicia Spinnet, ten, was nice, up until we realized that, while she was a pureblood, her father had remarried after her mother had passed away. That wouldn't necessarily be bad if it weren't for the fact that her father married a mudblood. Of course, we couldn't associate with that sort, according to Father. Elora Bole was in her first year of Hogwarts already, but we met her younger sister Iona, a year behind us. Cassial Snow is thirteen and already at Hogwarts, although she was incredibly good at braiding hair. Lillian Lawson is also thirteen and has an incredibly vicious temper. Nova Fawcett is ten and respectable.

On the much lovelier and easier side to deal with, there are Greek families with little girls closer to my age. Alayla Vasil is my age, and prefers to read than to play with dolls. Our time spent together is normally held in silence unless one of us calls the other over to look at whatever we're reading. Celena Remes doesn't like to read, but she does like to debate. I'm not required to learn a dance yet - Giagia expresses that she expects it soon - but Celena does it all the time. She's also far more flexible than I hope to be and we spend our time in the playroom trying out different tumbles.

I don't miss my old life like I thought I would. Over the years, the memories fade. No longer do I find myself crying into my pillow. Instead, when I find myself becoming sad, I bury myself in one of the books or find Theo and play with him. I still remember snippets, but they become more and more rare. I don't find myself frozen or overcome with grief.

Or, rather, I don't grieve for the past that's lost to me. I regret what happens next more than anything else.

* * *

A/N: There you go! Another cliffhanger because I can, apparently, only write cliffhangers. Let me know what you think! Was anyone a surprise? Did you expect to see them interact with someone else? The chapter title means "forced friendships". And, if you needed translations for any other words, here they are:

Kyrios - Mister  
Giagia - Grandmother  
Pappous - Grandfather  
Engoni - Grandchild  
I̱míaimos - Halfblood


	4. Four

Disclaimer: After reading this, you'll see why it was a better idea that J.K. Rowling owned Harry Potter and not me, hahahahaha. -shifty eyes-

AN: _Once again! We all must thank the fabulous _**GetWithIt**_ for looking over this chapter! And, thank you to all of you for the _**4**_ reviews, the _**20**_ follows (up 5 from the last update!), the _**11**_ favorites (up 1 from the last update!), and the _**444**_ views (up 187 from the last update!) You should all know that every time one of those number changes, I get so giddy and excited!_

* * *

Mama bursts into the room, waking me up. I sit up groggily and rub at my eyes with my palms, only really paying attention to her once she's pulled out a very stiff, black dress from my closet and laid it down on my bed. Her eyes are extremely red and puffy, and it's the least composed I've ever seen my Mama look.

"Mama, what's wrong?" I ask, throwing the covers off of me and immediately going to her side. I'm uncomfortable at how distressed she looks.

"Your Giagia passed away." She gulps back what looks like a sob, leaning down and pulling me into a hug. "Your Pappous and I were afraid it was going to happen soon, but…"

I'm genuinely sad to hear this, but I'm not surprised. Giagia had stopped coming by nearly a year ago, after our seventh birthday. Her bones couldn't handle apparating, and she could no longer stick the landing if they were to use floo. Most often than not, Mama would have us floo to Megalos Chateau to visit them, as well as for our lessons on duelling from Pappous. I wrap my arms around her and give her a small squeeze.

"It's okay, Mama." I tell her that, but I can feel the tears coming up in my own eyes. I loved Giagia. She'd often patch me up after a session with Pappous. Or, she would tell old stories while braiding my hair. She would take me to the beach and walk along quietly as I gave in to my more childish whims and ran through the sand, liking the grains under my feet. She never told Mama or Father.

"It will be, Dorothea. Get dressed. Vaniel will be here soon to do something with your hair. I'm off to wake Theodore and your father." She presses a kiss to the top of my forehead before straightening.

That's when I notice the black, woven robe she has on. She's already dressed, with her hair in a side-swept chignon. She leaves me standing in my room alone, closing my door behind her. I want to give myself a moment to cry about losing my Giagia, but I don't want to make the day any harder on Mama than it has to be. I pull off my nightgown and pull my own robes over me. It's a black, patterned over robe with a navy blue under robe. It is also woven with brocade fabric. I'm pulling on a pair of matching flats when Vaniel pops into my room.

"Is little Despoinís ready?" Vaniel asks quickly, pushing on my shoulders until I'm sitting at my vanity, staring at myself in the mirror.

Although not as bad as Mama, my eyes are looking a little red from the effort of not letting myself cry and the constant rubbing of my eyes. In a vain sort of way, it makes my blue eyes pop out. The tip of my nose is also looking a little rosy. I open my mouth to retort - to tell the stupid elf exactly what I want done with my hair - but nothing comes out except a small garble.

"Despoinís be saying hair has to go back of neck." She nods smartly and begins. I wince when she combs through it. My hair has gotten a little long, and it tangles easily at night. "Vaniel is crying when Vaniel is sad."

She says this in a small voice, not stopping in her effort to twist back my hair. I take one miserable look at her. I almost want to be outraged that the house elf is trying to comfort me, but I can't bring myself to be mad at her. Instead, I look down at my hands in my lap and let myself cry. I think of when Giagia read to me the old tales. They had truly been fascinating - who would have guessed that Helen of Troy was actually a half-veela?

"Vaniel is done, little Despoinís."

I look up and stop myself from wiping at my nose with the back of my hand. "Tissue, please." I hold my hand out for her to give me one before dabbing at my eyes and nose, taking in what she' done with my hair. It looks a little like Mama's, but with more twists and braids. Vaniel's even left some of my front hair go in tendrils that frame my face.

"Master be wanting little Despoinís to see Master in Master's study when ready." Vaniel bows deeply and pops before I can dismiss her. I stare blankly at myself and shrug, sliding off the small bench and wandering down the hall and down the stairs to Father's study.

Father has gotten better at, well, being a Father. Theo and I still prefer to spend our time together - or with Mama - but we don't mind terribly the moments we're with him. He's not affectionate, not even now. As I'm allowed into his study, he doesn't put down his book and pull me into a hug like Mama did. He doesn't kiss me on the forehead, or even rest a hand on my head. He doesn't tell me to come any closer to him than I'm normally granted. Rather, he flips the page of his book before snapping it shut.

"Fix your face, Dorothea. You're a respectable pureblood, not some mudblood tramp."

I make absolutely no effort to do so, but stare at him glumly. Any other given day, I would hurry to do whatever Father asks, but not today..

'_Thea, where are you?_' Theo presses.

"You'll be staying with your mother in Thessaloniki for a couple of days, do you understand?"

'_With Father._' I nod my head.

"Your mother's family is very different from ours. I expect you to help her in every way that you can."

* * *

I do help Mama, mostly because she has no sisters to help her. I wasn't aware that Mama was very close with Alaya's mother and grandmother, but both of them show up two hours after we do. They weren't the only ones who arrived; so do Celena and her mother. Because Giagia was proud of her Greek nationality, Pappous insisted we continue with the Greek rites. Celena and I aren't allowed to touch Giagia while Mama, Lady Vasil, and Lady Remes wash and anoint her. We pick out what Giagia is to wear for the rest of her body's time on earth.

We pick out a soft, gray material that is lined with gold thread. Mama and the older Lady Vasil wrap the material around Giagia's waist several times before securing it with golden pins. They swathe the remaining material over her shoulders and bring it back to her front under her opposite arm. I try very hard not to cry, but Celena's arms around my shoulders let me know that I'm doing a poor job of it. It's my job to secure the jewelry around Giagia's neck and arms.

"Come here, Dorothea." I turn immediately towards Mama and flank her, my hands tugging at her side robe.

Mama doesn't look at me. Instead, she pulls out a galleon and sticks it under Giagia's tongue.

"I brought your violin, Dorothea." She conjures a small chair and pulls my violin case from the bag she brought with her, waving her wand over it and restoring it's proper size. "I am going to go and get Theo and your father. I want you to play Tristesse continuously until I get back. Stay here."

"Yes, Mama." I nod and reach over to pull out my violin carefully, tuning the instrument as best I can without Theo here to compare it to. I promptly sit down and start slowly and carefully.

I must have played through it twice, maybe three times, when I feel Theo's presence.

'_I have something very important to tell you._' He tells me matter of factly.

I'm still startled by his voice, but gain my composure right as Mama sits him down next to me and transfigures a chair into a piano big enough for him to play on, but small enough that it doesn't take all the space in the room. Several people come into the room to pay Giagia respect. Pappous is with her the entire time, holding one of her hands in his. Father stops by briefly, but he nods at Pappous and leaves soon after.

'_What is it?_' I ask, pausing in beat of rest.

'_Father is a terrible man._'

I glance at Theo from the side of my eyes with a slightly raised eyebrow.

'_There's a woman. I saw them kissing._'

My bow runs so hard into the strings that all three snap. Mama and Pappous both snap their heads to me, but I can only stare at Theo in horror.

* * *

I don't look up when Theo walks into my room. We mourned Giagia for exactly thirty days before we were allowed to go back to our normal schedule. That meant picking up our lessons with Kyrios Kosta. That, in turn, translated into some reading and homework for Theo and I. My brother tended to take this news with a notion that he'd get it done when he needed to, but never as quickly as I did. I don't look up from the book in my hand. _Blast it All: The Story of Alberta Toothill_. It was largely made up, but certainly helped in giving seemingly useless duelling spells that tended to catch opponents off guard.

Pappous, after all, is expecting us to go back to Megalous Chateau some time later this week to resume our training with him.

I am very determined to ignore my brother, especially when he climbs up on the bed opposite me and stares.

"Thea." He says, finally. "I'm not going to be ignored."

"I'm not ignoring you." But I am. I try very hard to focus. Purus is a cleaning spell that flashes a very nasty shade of brown, but leaves everything in its wake spotless.

"You have to talk about it eventually." His tone is very exasperated.

"I don't." I retort. Purus, also, does wonder for robe stains and is surprising enough that Alberta's opponent's quit trying to attack her in favor of trying to figure out what she did to them.

"There's something else, too." He pulls the book out of my hand, closes it, and tosses it over his shoulder.

"Theo!" I complain. I'm about to slide off the bed in order to go and fetch my book, but his dark look stops me.

"I think Mama knows."

Mama and Father aren't affectionate, but there are moments that I can almost convince myself that they love each other. At the funeral procession, Father's arm was over Mama's shoulders like he was comforting her. He had whispered something in her ear. She had immediately gone off with Pappous, but he looked sad. I wanted to believe that he was comforting her, but maybe not? Since that day, it became painfully obvious that they were only really putting up with each other because of Theo and I.

"I don't understand what you expect from me, Theo." I frown at him, crossing my arms over my chest. "What do you want me to do? Tell them we know?"

He tilts his head up, thoughtfully. "What if we don't give them a choice? What if we make them tell us?"

I roll my eyes at his plan, but it could work. "Just pay a lot of attention and wait for them to mess up while one of us is there?"

He nods his head, sliding down from my bed and picking up my book to hand back to me. "Yeah, then they can quit pretending, right? I hate it when people pretend."

* * *

Father doesn't mess up. Father is careful. I suppose it's easier for him. He's rarely ever home, and, when he is, he doesn't talk to us outside of grilling us over whatever book he's brought for us to read and discuss. (_Fact or Fiction: Are Mudbloods All What They Seem?_ The book's answer was no, they weren't. They were clearly trying to take over the wizarding world and make it just like the Muggle world. Father has great taste in books.) The point is, Father never gets caught.

Mama does.

I don't think she intended for me to see, well, anything. It wasn't her fault that I happened to wander down at the time. Vaniel wasn't responding to my calls, and I do not call on Sidhien unless I absolutely have to. It was pretty late. Honestly, I should have been in bed, but my throat was starting to itch. I was certain Neville had given me a cold. He had been visiting with us earlier that morning, and we had been looking over plants before Theo had dragged him off to play a classic game of Gobstones. Mrs. Longbottom had been saying he had recently gotten over an illness and to be careful. No roughhousing, she said, though it's not like we ever did.

'_Why are you awake?_' Theo whines through our bond. '_Go to sleep._'

It's incredibly likely that he's sick, too, or getting there. I resolve to bring him a glass of water as well. To get to the kitchen, I have to pass through a small study. I don't see the problem. I cough into my hands when I push the door open. That's when I see it. Mama shoves Kyrios Kosta away from her, eyes wide and arms reaching for me.

"Dorothea! What are you doing out of bed?" She's frantic.

"What are you doing!?" I wish I could say that I'm calm and not at all affected. If anything, I might have been able to keep my head in this. I might have, if I didn't see the slash marks and the teeth indentations in his skin.

'_What's wrong? Thea!?_' Theo's moving about upstairs, I can feel him.

"Thea, no! Listen to me. Listen to Mama."

I step away from her, keeping my horrified expression on my 'tutor'. "All this time, I-I didn't know. Mama!" My voice drops. "He...He's _filthy_."

He is. Not because he has Muggle blood running through his veins, or because he's a halfblood or even a mudblood. He's filthy because he's not even completely human - not like the rest of us. He's the sort of impurity Mama and Father had warned us specifically to stay away from.

I don't register the slap until I'm looking up aghast at my mother.

"Amaltheia!" That _werewolf_ has the audacity to pull her away. Lot of good it does her, looking like that. Her crimson robes are half hanging off her shoulders.

"What's going on here?" Father bursts into the room, powerfully. Theo is right on his heels, eyes darting all over the place until he spots me. Without paying our parents or tutor any attention, he heads straight for me.

"Why's your face red?" He helps me up.

I'm very ashamed to be crying at this point. "S-slap."

"Hektor." She pushes away from Kosta again, eyes pleading. "No, not in front of the children."

Father laughs, striding in front of us. It's horrible and cruel. "You should have thought of that before you got yourself tangled up in a _half-breed_, Amaltheia. Did you think you wouldn't be caught? I never took you for this much of an idiot."

Theo's gaping, his hands pulling me closer. "Did the half-breed hit you, Thea?"

Father whips his hand out of his holster and points it at them. Likewise, he does it as well, pulling his own out reluctantly.

"Ranvir, no!" Mama pulls on Kosta's wand, trying to get him to put it down. "You'll hurt the children!"

"You'll never lay a hand on my children again, _vró̱ma_." I'm too much in shock to register that Father actually claimed us as his children to try to make sense of what he's said.

"If they're yours!" Kosta says furiously.

"You dare insinuate what's mine is yours!" Father shouts angrily, eyes blazing.

"Think about it, twins!" Kosta must be desperate because he turns to us. "Think about it. Who's taught you everything you know? Who's never said an unkind word to you? Who acknowledges you?"

"You hit my sister." Theo's voice is very firm, and he pushes me behind him to glare at the man that was once our tutor. "You...You've defiled our home. You are not _our_ Father. You are nothing but dirt." He turns sharply to Mama. "_You are not our mother_!"

Mama bursts into tears, looking more lost now than she did when her own mother passed away. "Theo, don't say that." She tries to move closer, but a nasty looking red spell hits the floor right in front of her.

Father still looks angry, but there is this new look in his eyes. Almost as if he's _proud_ of what Theo just said or something, but it cuts me very deeply. What our tutor said wasn't wrong, and Mama has always been the one who took care of us. She sung us lullabies in the crib. She held us when we cried, comforted us when Father scolded us. She was the one who had dressed us when we were younger and listened to what we had to say.

Mama was the one who jumped in front of Ranvir Kosta when Father shot sickeningly green colored curse his way. She collapsed onto the ground, eyes still opened in shock and tears still streaming down her face. Her would-be lover yelled in agony, dropping to his knees but not exactly touching her. Father raised his wand to shoot off another spell, but the Grecian half-breed seemed to remember exactly what was going on. He lifted his wand and countered every spell that Father fired at him. They moved away from Mama, throwing and blocking. Spells fired off in all directions of the room.

"Mama?" Theo's voice is raw, and I can feel him crying. We duck spells with a mastery that Pappous put there, crawling over to her. Theo holds her head in his lap, hands pushing against her cheek. I grab her hands and squeeze tightly.

"Mama, wake up!" He's sobbing now, too, just as hard as I am.

I'm angry that she hit me. Angry that she was cheating on Father, too. Father was supposed to be the bad parent, not Mama. Mama isn't supposed to die. She's supposed to take us to Diagon Alley - to see us off to Hogwarts where we'll be sorted into Slytherin, like Father, or Ravenclaw like her.

"Children!" Father shouts. I whip my head to look at him. Instead, I see a blue spell coming my way. I do the first thing that comes to mind. I jump over Mama and push Theo down, letting the spell hit my back.

And scream.

* * *

AN: There you have it. Some very serious stuff just went down. Please let me know what you think and what you think is going to happen next. I like to have a good laugh, and, who knows? Maaaybe I'll incorporate some ideas.

Despoinís - Miss  
Thessaloniki - 2nd largest city in Greece, home of Megalos Chateau  
vró̱ma - filth  
Vale, pars una - Goodbye, part one


	5. Five

Disclaimer: I _still_ don't own Harry Potter, but I have lawyers!

And, by lawyers, I mean chips. American chips, not fries.

AN: Y_ou know who's amazing? _**GetWithIt**_ for looking over this chapter! (And in general...) And, thank you to all of you for the **5**__ reviews, the _**26**_ follows (up 6 from the last update!), the _**14**_ favorites (up 3 from the last update!), and the _**701 **_views (up 257 from the last update!) You all are a godsend._

_Also, a special thanks to _Pretend Fiction _for the lovely review that led to a panic induced, who-am-I identity crisis for both Thea and Theo. They loved that, haha._

* * *

I don't wake up right away. Everything around me is dark, and I'm pretty convinced that I've just gone and died again. But I'm at peace with it because I died for my brother. I was a terrible person when I was _Abby_. I was conceited and rude. I thought he world revolved around me. In my second life, I was only marginally better. I didn't learn out of desire to better the world around me. I read because I liked it. I read because I craved information to help me get ahead in the world. The world revolved around me, yes, but not just me. I've accepted that I died as _Dorothea_ because it meant that Theodore could live. He'd be a great wizard. He'd be great and, if he could at least remember me, then I had done my job as his sister. I'm in this mindset until I hear a timid voice somewhere in the back of my mind.

'Thea?'

I'm shocked to hear Theo's voice, but he's not unwelcome. I wander off in the direction of his voice, but I never see him.

'_Theo? Where are you?_' I tap my foot impatiently. At least, I think I do. I can't see my body when I look down, but I can hear it.

'_I'm right here. Next to you on the bed. Why won't you wake up?_' He is not next to me on the bed. At least, I don't see him anywhere near me. I extend my arms and twirl.

I think.

I still don't see him. '_No, you're not. You're not anywhere near me, liar._'

'_Am so! You're in St. Mungo's. That man hit you with a spell, and you haven't woken up yet. I've been trying to reach you for hours since I woke up!_'

'_Hours? But, I've only just got here!_' I try to squish down the hysteria in my voice. It doesn't work.

'_Do you remember what happened? Father says it's important I ask you._'

'_Father's there?_'

'_Yes._' Theo sounds a little uncomfortable. '_Other people have already stopped by, too. Aurors._'

'_I felt sick. I think Neville gave me his cold._' I pause, frowning. '_I was thirsty, and Vaniel wasn't answering when I called her. So I thought I could get it myself. I was passing by the study when I saw Mama and that man. He had scars and bites all over, and I knew what they meant because of that book that Father got us!_'

'_Werewolf. He's a werewolf.' _Theo's voice is understandably disgusted._ 'Anything else?_'

'_I-Mama-He? He hit me, I think. Slapped me._' The memory gets really fuzzy here. '_Mama let it happen._' Theo doesn't say anything to negate this, so I think I'm right. '_Then, you and Father came into the room, and he and Father got into a verbal fight and then that man shot a killing curse at Father and Mama threw herself in front of him, right?_'

'_Right._' Theo answers immediately, voice sounding off. '_Are you okay? Father says it's alright to cry._'

_'I am sad, but really confused right now. Am I crying?_'

'_You are. Father's gone out to get a healer to see if that's normal._'

'_Don't get it in your mind that I'm abnormal, Theodore._' I chastise him because I know that's where his thoughts are going.

He doesn't answer, but he doesn't have to. My eyes flutter open. They open and I only really get to see how _white_ the ceiling looks and register that this is the hospital and not my room before I shut them again, wincing at the bright lights.

A heavy hand rests upon my brow. "Dorothea, open your eyes." I want to voice a protest, but I refrain. I turn my head in his direction and open them slowly so the first thing I see is Father. There is a new scar on his cheek. He looks worn and irritated, empty and overtaxed all at once, but otherwise okay.

I do grunt with the added pressure as Theo all but jumps on me. "You're awake!" He grins.

"That spell didn't kill me, but you might. Get off." I push him just a little with the one hand he's not already sitting on.

"Theodore." Father says gruffly. He immediately slides down and stands too straight at attention. It's unnatural. He's pale, and his hair looks shorter somehow, but he does seem to be unharmed, too.

'_Sorry. I'm just glad you're alive._'

'_Me too._'

* * *

I stay in St. Mungo's for a week under close observation. Healers poke and prod me, as well as ask a lot of very stupid questions that I answer as best I can. This is accompanied by a lot of writing and hums. They like to hum and give me these very pitiful looks. I do get quite a few visitors in the short time frame, however. I'm shocked at the amount of 'friends' I've managed to make. Neville stops by twice. The first time is completely by accident, or so he claims. Draco and Lady Malfoy also stop by.

I'm not entirely convinced that she _didn't_ see the way her son was making faces at me behind her back. Alaya and Celena stop by, thankfully, at a time when Lady Malfoy has gone out to speak with Father in the hallway. Neither of them have met Draco before, and I don't like the look that Celena is giving him. I don't make the necessary introductions, but Theo does. They try to make a joke at my expense, but it falls flat if their expressions are anything to go by.

Alaya sits next to my hip on the bed, and puts her hand over mine.

"Mama asked me to express that you don't have to worry about the precession rights. That she and Celena's Mama will take care of it. You'll only have to be there for the burning."

She puts her head on my shoulder, and I press my cheek against the top of her head. It strikes me that Alaya and Celena are very much my friends in ways that the other girls will never be. Theo's mouth is in a straight line at the image, but his attention is pulled away again by Draco.

"That half-breed is being thrown in Azkaban. He's got a trial, but Father's managed to make it short." Draco says this in a voice that, I think, is supposed to be comforting but sounds off, as if he's not used to comforting anyone.

Theo's mouth quirks, but he's not exactly smiling. "I think he should get the Kiss."

"The Kiss hasn't been given in years." Celena pipes, sitting at the edge of the bed. "Especially not in England."

"What's wrong with England?" Draco defends quickly.

Celena laughs like his question is the funniest thing she's ever heard in her life. "What isn't, compared to Greece? Even our Quidditch teams are better."

They're definitely not. Greece hasn't even made the World Cup within the last century. Everyone in the room knows it. Alaya snorts under her breath, and Theo, bless his soul, looks confused about how the subject has suddenly turned to _Quidditch_, of all things.

'It's to make us feel better.' I laugh inwardly when he frowns at me and subtly shakes his head.

"Shut up." Draco rolls his eyes. "At least you don't look like death anymore."

The last part is directed at me, and the room goes silent.

"She was unconscious, you prat." Theo spats.

Draco gives him a very flat look. "And, now the Princess is awake." He dismisses Theo with a shake of his head and turns back towards us. "Who has the better league?"

"Sorry, Celena. England does. I will, however, kick you out of this room if you say Wimbourne Wasps are the best team, Malfoy."

The indignant look on his face _does_ make Theo smile until he laughs.

"Tutshill Tornados are much better." My brother smirks smugly.

"Talk to me again, Nott, when you've won a European Cup." Draco says haughtily.

"The Wasps have only ever gotten to semis." Celena defends. "The Tornadoes almost won last season, but lost to Bayern Löwe 390 to 400. You speak when you've won a European Cup."

The blonde pauses to look at the Grecian witch appraisingly before nodding his head, seemingly satisfied with her answer.

Neville stops by, too, but after everyone else's left already. Pappous stopped by just briefly before he did and collected Theo to help him build the pyre for Mama. Father's also absent, having left for Nott Villa to pick out more comfortable robes for me to wear.

"You swear you're okay?" He sets the banquet of alstroemerias down on the counter before wandering closer, eyes wide.

"I'm sad." I admit because Neville's the kind of guy that you can tell feelings to without expecting a funny expression. "I can't believe she's gone. I keep expecting her to walk through the door and fuss over me."

He shifts uncomfortably, but nods his head. "Yeah, I know how you feel. I'm glad you're awake. I was worried when we read about the attack in the paper. No one, uh, told us." His face flushes a little, but he smiles uncomfortably.

I don't smile back right away because I know how vicious those papers can get. I've often laughed about it with Theo and Mama, the latter is - _was_ fond of the gossip section. It's only when I can see Neville becoming more physically uncomfortable that I force the edges of my mouth up and turn to look at the flower he gets me. "Those are too pretty to have been bought. You raised them, then?"

I won't stand for pity, and Nevile's attention is _easily_ diverted by flora.

* * *

Mama's funeral is very much like Giagia's. Father and Pappous, as well as a couple of other men, carry her up to the pyre and gently lay her body down. I stand next to Father. Across from us, Theo and Pappous stand. Then, almost exactly at the same time, we say:

"_Fo̱tiá_," with a lot of intent behind it.

The fire that comes from my wand - and, for that matter, Theo's wand - is nowhere nearly as impressive as the fire that comes from the adults' wands. The pyre they worked so hard to build up goes up in flames rather quickly. The stench of charcoal, copper, and sulfur hit me all at once. Father and Pappous glance at each other and wave their hands again. I didn't notice it with Giagia, but a small barrier goes up right in front of us, encompassing the smell.

I'm caught off guard when Father puts his hand on my shoulder. I'm shaking and trying very hard not to cry.

She was my Mama. My _mother_.

"Just this once, no one will hold it against you."

With his permission, the tears flow freely. I'm not ashamed of the way I cling to his robes and cry into his side, though I am surprised when his hand pats me gently on the shoulder in response. I can _feel_ Theodore crying across me from me, too, although when I look at him he's not crying into Pappous like I am.

I'm a little reluctant to lean back into Father, but I can't help but crave his approval. It hits me that this isn't going to be the first time I'm going to lose someone. The memory is fuzzy, but I remember some things from the canon line. And, I know that the man whose hand is around my shoulders is a Death Eater. I should hate him, but this is also the man who listened to me babble on about books when I was younger, enthused.

This is the man who taught me to read, even if the books were questionable. This is the man who comforted me when I cried, who protected me from a deranged half-breed even after losing his wife. I should hate him for our split ideologies, but I understood _why_ he did the things he did, even if I didn't like them. He is not the idea father, nothing like the dad Abby had, but he's my Father.

We leave for Nott Villa that night, saying goodbye to Pappous. After changing into my nightgown, I wait precisely one hour from when Father sent us to bed to leave my room and pad into Theo's. He's awake and doesn't really acknowledge me shoving him over so I can lay my head down on the pillow. He does, however, reach for my hand and squeeze tightly.

"Nightmares?" He whispers, knowingly.

"You too?" I briefly wonder if we're having the same nightmares. I make a point to ask him what his are.

He shudders. "_You_. The look on your face as you jumped over Mama to push me out of the way. I'm older than you, Thea. I'm supposed to protect you, but I was too weak. You were screaming. I see it all the time when I close my eyes. You're screaming and flailing. I can't even touch you because you were thrashing all over the place. Then, you stopped. Father managed to knock out that man, and you stopped flailing. You were too still and _so_ pale...I thought it wasn't a green light, but there are other ways..."

I swallow the lump in my throat. "Me too, only...you. I didn't even think. I just...I didn't want to know what that spell did. I knew it was going to hit you. I didn't think about me. I just knew that I wanted to protect you. When I'm asleep, I'm too slow and the spell isn't blue. It's green. I see Mama falling down, and I try to reach you, but you're too far away from me. The spell hits you, and you fall. You just stare at me, but you aren't moving." I'm crying again. Theo squeezes my hand again, moving closer. "You just stare, and it's almost like looking into a mirror..."

"But, it's not. I know. It's okay." He's firm. "I'm never going to let that happen to you, okay? Nothing's ever gonna get between us."

"Típota?"

"Típota."

It won't, I decide. I won't let anything get between us. I've lost Mama and Giagia, and I can't stop age from taking anyone else I love. But, in that moment, with my brother to my side. I ignore the part of me that was Abby, the business major. I am Dorothea Medeia; the eight year old aspiring witch. I am Theodore Nikolas' little sister. I am Hektor and Amaltheia Nott's youngest daughter. I'm no longer an American - a _Muggle_. That part of my life is over.

Goodbye. Antío.

* * *

AN: This is, of course, much shorter than the previous chapter and the following one. (So far, I think.) This is mostly to give you guys closure, haha. Review and let me know what you think!

Fo̱tiá - Fire in Greek  
Típota - Nothing in Greek. (Think of this, you TFIOS fans, as a better and sibling version of "Always" and "Okay".)  
Antio - Goodbye in Greek.


	6. Six

**Disclaimer**: I _still_ don't own Harry Potter, and my lawyers laughed at me when I tried to suggest otherwise...

And, by layers laughing, I mean I ate all my chips.

AN: _A very big, very thankful shout out to _**GetWithIt** _for looking over this and being patient with me for being sick! You're the best! We're up to _**7**_ reviews (up 2 from last time), _**36**_ follows (up 10 from last update!), _**20**_ favorites (up 6 from last update!) and _**1,258**_ views (up 557 from the last update!) Holy cow. You all are wonderful!_

* * *

My brother is very lucky I don't resort to Muggle violence and punch him in the nose as payback. Instead, I suck in a breath and try to fling him back. I didn't notice how often he'd been practicing.

"_Pónos._" I'm not sure how Theo's gotten close enough to me to tap his wand three times against my side, but I go down quickly with a roll.

I'm too late to avoid the effect, and I muffle a groan as the aftermath of the spell hits me. It feels as though I've been kicked in the stomach. I know the spell, too. I'm the one that taught it to him. Pónos causes aching in the area that the wand taps. I grit my teeth and get to my feet quickly.

"_Finite_." I counter on myself and flip to the side. Pappous hates when we try to dodge like that, but Father is always greatly amused when we do. After all, I am putting his galleons to good use; Prynne would be pleased. "_Prosvolí̱_."

I smirk with pride when the salmon-colored spell hits him, and he falls down hard, spasming. I practically stalk across the stage, pointing my wand at him once more. I don't hear him cancel my spell, especially since he's still twitching. I do, however, see the carmine spell slam into my knees, throwing my legs out from under me. The stage closes in on me too quickly, and I hear a nasty crack when my nose hits.

"_Timo̱ría._" I cough out, hardly able to breathe.

Theo, not having the wonderful opportunity of being taught by Father's hired hands, is not fast enough to dodge it. I imagine Father smirking at Pappous. However, my brother _is_ able to throw up a moderately good shielding charm, so the worst that happens is terrible bruising erupting around his nose. It's not broken like mine is. And, as I'm on the floor, he has all the more chances to throw more spells at me.

"Winner!" The announcer voices once I see the wand pointed at me. No matter that mine's aimed at his legs. "Reigning junior champion, Dorothea Nott, has been bested! Ladies and gentlemen, your new champion, Theodore Nott!"

I wince, but gather myself as best I can. Theo's already being led away by the arbiter, and not looking very happy for it. I pull a handkerchief from my pocket and hold it up against my nose, climbing down from the stage and towards Pappous and Father with a defiant air. People compliment me on getting so far, but I only somewhat acknowledge them. I don't stop until I'm looking up at Father.

"That ending was careless of you, Dorothea." Father's words are scolding, but he does rest his hand on top of my head with a very small quirk of his mouth. "What spell did he hit you with?"

"_Ríxei_." I purse my lips and try not to talk, wincing when Pappous pulls away the silken square away from my nose.

He swirls his wand, and I can feel the blood stop rushing. "I stopped the bleeding, paidí. The swelling will also go down soon, but I'm afraid the bruising must heal on it's own. Your brother will be much the same. Dídyma, indeed."

I wrinkle my nose out of habit, but wince immediately afterwards. "I will manage, Pappous. I will manage, and I will get my revenge."

"Isn't that what you did already?" Father raises an eyebrow, but his eyes are scanning the crowd for Theo. "Kadmus, do you see him?"

"I will go get Theo." Pappous smiles. I only just feel his hand on my shoulder before he's off, navigating the crowd with a cold nod here and there when others draw near.

"_Timo̱ría _is an excellent spell, Father." I nod at him. "I'm pleased I managed to learn it in time."

"I imagine so." He tears his gaze from the stage to look down. "Prynne will no doubt drill you harder when he learns you have lost."

"I'm not afraid." I raise my head and square my shoulders. "I deserve everything he gives me and more. I worked too hard to not make Euros."

* * *

Since Mama passed on, Prynne Parkinson has become a constant in our lives. He isn't the type of man one would assume someone as esteemed as Hektor Nott would normally associate with. The Parkinson family may be old, but they still aren't in our same inner circle. Prynne is the exception. He graduated first of his class, Slytherin, with eight O's and two E's. He is very...handsome, but not in the typical 'high-class' kind of way. Yes, he has dark hair, long eyelashes, and a smirk that outdoes mine, but he also has a series of tattoos and scars up and down his arms and neck. His ears are pierced, too.

He made Auror with his grades. He went through all of the process, and finished the top of that class, too, but quit one day. Rumor has it that it was because he was ordered to go on a raid of his family home, but he says that it was because he "was swayed towards the wonderful world of monetary gain." Father bought him into his own little military.

I don't mind it, particularly because Father rarely has time to spend with us. He's too busy negotiating contracts with other investors. He does, however, make sure to be home for breakfast and dinner, as well as before we go to sleep so we can review the day. Theo and I are left with Sidhien and Vaniel the days Prynne and Josce aren't by to teach us anything.

At the beginning of each dueling lesson, he spends twenty minutes reviewing my last bout. Prynne spends two minute complimenting the tactics I used against other opponents. He doesn't give me enough time to amass any pride before spending the remaining eightteen tearing into me about all of the things I did wrong against Theo.

"I've taught idiots how to properly wield a wand to protect my pay." He glares down at me. "If any of them were to leave themselves open like that, how much do you think your father would take away? I would have thought my protege could beat her brother."

I'm lucky, he goes on to say, that the Diggory brat was in Hogwarts already, otherwise he'd be instructing me with much more gusto. I don't know what he means because this is so much more than the training that led up to my loss. We go through a series of exercises. I excell in memorizing the list of spells he wants me to, and I have no trouble dodging the light spells as he casts them. I do have trouble making sure that I cast my own spells at him, or even the simplest shielding charm, otherwise all the dodging is useless. Pappous hates all the grand gestures, but Prynne drills it into me.

"The audience loves a show." He sneers, flicking Pónos at me. "The audience turns the opinion of the judges. They'll make you look better than you are."

After about three hours, my arms can't hold me up for another cartwheel or flip. My legs can't even hold me to cut to the sides. At heart, I'm an academic. Mama assured Theo and I to be with the amount of lessons that we took. I feel dead as I collapse back onto the mock stage, groaning as every muscle in me finally start to relax.

"If you fail again, I'm going to make today look like a warm up, do I make myself clear?" Prynne waves his wand.

My body doesn't feel as tired, but I still ache. He pulls me up and gestures towards the villa with a blank face.

"Go and rest, and we'll see how you do next weekend."

* * *

I'm not the first in the first round, nor am I the second or third. I am however, called fourth. I grin maliciously at my opponent. Ernest. Bless his soul, he's not going to stand a chance.

"Er, you're not going to go easy on him, are you?" Neville asks worriedly.

"Of course not." I snort, handing my bag off to him.

Theo isn't allowed to attend the event, so he's at the Villa with Pappous. Since my twin hadn't been allowed to attend, I asked Father if I could bring one of my friends. Alaya is off shopping for the beginning term at Plato's Academy, and Celena is at one of the local free debates that Plato gives. She would have come with me, but her family has had the tickets for a while. It isn't that Neville is my last choice, because he's not, but he was the only one available.

So, I asked, and Lady Longbottom had agreed Neville could come with me.

"Hello, Dorothea." Ernest greets cheerfully, bowing at me.

I do the same, gracefully. "Ernest. You don't look nervous."

"I don't have a reason to be." He acknowledges before sending a small stinging hex my way.

"I would disagree, actually." I grin. "_Prosvolí̱!_"

My shielding charms, I admit, aren't the best. Ernest's are downright terrible. He doesn't even throw one up, nor does he think to deflect the spell. Just like Theo, he goes down and starts flailing. I don't hesitate to dart towards him quickly and hold my wand to his neck.

"Round four goes to Dorothea Nott." The announcer calls, and I end the spell.

Ernest takes my offered hand, and I pull him to his feet so we can bow to each other once more. His face is a bright red color, but he doesn't look as offended as I probably had the previous week. He's a more graceful loser than I am.

"I'll get you next time, then." He nods and heads off when Neville appears at my side.

"That was so fast." Neville says in awe. "You didn't even flinch when he sent that hex your way!"

"That's because Prynne sends worse." I wrinkle my nose. "He hit me with one that gave me hives, once."

He shudders. "I don't think I would be very good at this."

"Dorothea practices daily." Father appears with Prynne not far behind him. "It would be disappointing if she weren't doing well."

"You can't keep relying on that spell." Prynne scolds. "I'm aware it's one of your favorites, but people are going to keep taking notice."

"I have others." I tell him primly, but I do have to admit that it's one of my preferred spells.

"Who do you think you'll go up against next?" Neville peers around the crowds.

"Cameron Harper." Father answers for me, gesturing towards the board. "Although, I was under the impression Harper was older than you."

"He is." Prynne folds his arms. "I believe he is just young enough to participate in this tournament."

"I'm not worried." I roll my wand in my hand. "You shouldn't be, either, Neville. Now, if you were Cameron, your misgivings would be reasonable."

"You sure are confident." Neville's voice is a lot lower around Father.

Confidence isn't the only thing I have. I know I'll beat Harper because I doubt he has a slave driver of a trainer like I do. I know I'll beat him because Father would be disappointed in me if I didn't. I'm not sure what he has to lose, if anything at all, but I know that it's less important than what I stand to lose.

We bow, and I must admit that Cameron is a better duelist than Ernest is. I have to cartwheel to the left to avoid one of his hexes, though it still manages to singe the corner of my shirt.

"_Diakopí̱._" I sneer, aiming for his leg. I hear the crack, and, when he bends over in pain, "_Ríxei._"

In the time it takes for him to be thrown backwards, I'm already holding my wand to his chest.

"Round ten goes to Dorothea Nott." The broadcaster cheers.

I don't help Harper up, mostly because he's not going to be getting to his feet anytime soon. The medic staff has to levitate him off the stage. I pay no mind to the vicious glare he directs my way. I don't know much about the other participants, but I do know that Malfoy's doing extremely well.

"He'll be your only competition, really." Prynne frowns, staring at the blond. "Perhaps that Boot child or that Bones girl will be decent."

"I didn't know he was here." I whisper to Neville, rolling my eyes.

"It can't be that bad." Neville pats my arm uncertainly. "I thought you guys were getting along lately?"

"That's Theo. They see eye to eye now, I think." I wince. "I can't stand it. He comes over from time to time now. That's usually when I come over, or when I go to Alaya's."

"You have been coming over a lot recently." Neville's attention shifts to the stage. "Why doesn't Theo go to Malfoy's?"

"He does." I huff. "He hardly stays home to read with me nowadays. I wish that prat would quit stealing my brother."

"Dorothea." Father scolds, nudging my shoulder. "Pay attention to what's going on around you. You need to focus."

"I'm sorry, Father." I apologize immediately, shooting Neville a look and jabbing him in the side.

He grins his apology.

I don't feel bad for standing opposite Susan Bones. I've only "played" with her a couple of times previously. We bow to each other. I know she's good - at least, she's better than Harper. Otherwise, she wouldn't be standing opposite me.

Her curses are weak. She doesn't have the intent behind them, but she casts quickly. I have a job of evading them all and sending some of my own her way. I feel like the entire match goes on for hours. In reality, it's only a couple of minutes. I've underestimated the redheaded girl. She hits me with a numbing curse, and I can't flip anymore. I don't have time to cast "_Finite_" and end the spell that's making my left side feel as if it is throbbing. Instead, I send a series of like minded curses her way and only bob and weave past some of hers.

I'm pleased that _Timo̱ría_ is the spell that hits her dead on, especially when it slows her casting down to a pace much more like the first duel.

"_Mizéria._" The crimson colored spell only just manages to catch her right hip.

I holster my wand and sidestep the weak ones she casts. The spell takes about a minute to set in, but it's one of Father's favorites. I know she's really responsive when the wand falls from her hand. Her eyes start watering, and her face pales. She starts sobbing and falls to her knees when I pick up the wand and hold it to her face.

"Round thirteen goes to Dorothea Nott."

"_Finite._" I flip Bones' wand in my hand and hold the end back to her. She snatches it out of my hand with a terrible glare.

Malfoy beats Boot with the same gusto. When I stare at him from across the stage, I grit my teeth. I am not about to let him get away with it again. He is not going to take my brother away from me. Theo has been the constant in my life, and I'm not about to hand him over to some blond prat.

…

I'm pretty sure I'm bleeding. I try to clench my left hand into a fists, but the most I get is a twitch of my fingers. Even Theo and I refrain from using curses that cut. The nastiest curse we use are the ones that break bones, and we don't use them often. Draco, it seems, had no qualms about such things. He fires in rapid succession, faster than Bones, but he makes the mistake of using the same one over and over again. Prynne was right about being repetitive. I'd be a terrible friend if I didn't help Malfoy learn that lesson.

I'll be facing Theo again in Euros, and I don't think I'll be letting him beat me.

* * *

I'm right, but only just barely so. I'm not sure what Pappous has been teaching Theo, but the moment we start, charms, curses, and hexes are cast every single way. I flip and dodge, bending out of the way of his flung spells. I try my best to hit him with some news spells that I've been saving for him, but they miss or are just as easily dodged as his are. The duel isn't a short one, and both of us are exhausted by the end of it. In the end, it's merely a fluke that I manage to win.

A fluke, or Theo got incredibly brash. He tries for one of the harder spells. It isn't one that I would have issued easily for the fear that it wouldn't work, but my darling brother takes the risk. It backfires, and doesn't really go the way he plans. In the wake of his hesitation and confusion, I pounce and go on the attack. I take advantage of his bewilderment and back him onto a small piece of the stage.

'_You're such a pain.._.' I hear him grit out.

'_Thank you!_' I smile, but it's a little worn.

"_Diaspeírei_." The myrtle colored spell hits his left hand, sending his wand up into the air. "Accio, Theo's wand!" I extend my hand and catch it before he can reach out himself.

"Winner, Dorothea Nott." The voice comes on overhead announcing first in English and then in a series of other languages.

The room erupts in a mixture of polite applause and enthusiastic cheering. There are people holding up banners. I grin at Theo and stride across the stage to hold out the wand to him. He takes it, but it's not as viciously or as angrily as Malfoy or Bones did.

"This makes up for Greece, I hope you know that." I take a couple of steps back and bow to him. He does the same with a deadpan look.

'_I hope you know that I'm going to take the title in 1995._'

'_I think that's a different competition. We'd be in the U-17's, but you're welcome to try._'

* * *

AN: Here's you go. I'm very sorry this is a couple of days late...I'll try not to get sick again. 3 Review and let me know what you think!

Victoriam aut pudor - Victory or Shame  
Dídyma - twin  
paidí - child

The spells, I hope, kind of explain themselves. There are too much of them for me to make sure I get every single one in. If you want clarification, feel free to ask.


	7. Seven

**Disclaimer**: I had a dreamed I owned Harry Potter once...It didn't turn out very well.

AN: _Do you guys know who you should love? _**GetWithIt**_ for looking over this and making sure I don't have many mistakes. You are _amazing_. Not to say the rest of you aren't. We now have _**8** _reviews (up 1 from last time), _**41 **_follows (up 5 from last update!), _**22 **_favorites (up 2 from last update!), and_ **1,515** _views (up 257 from last update!) You guys are amazing, and I hope you enjoy this!_

* * *

It's the second morning in a row that Theo and I eat breakfast without Father. he left yesterday with Prynne very early in the morning so that he could secure a contract with an American company, possibly even recruiting some employees. Admittedly, it's calmer than when Father is around, mostly because we're able to read at the table.

Although, there was that _one_ time that we were so frustrated and gave each other migraines that were so bad we had to knock each other out. The worst part of it was that we could still hear each other. The argument only continued.

"Anything good in the paper?" Theo asks, looking up from his book in order to butter his toast.

"What kind of question is that?" I ask, pursing my lips at a particular story about the disasterly deeds some minor Pureblood family is getting themselves up to. Then, of course there is an article all excited about _perhaps_ spotting Potter in Diagon Alley now that it's time for him to start Hogwarts. "This newspaper only reports trash. I should really subscribe to _The Sentinel_."

"Then why are you reading it?" He rolls his eyes and brushes the crumbs off the pages in front of him.

"Because I wanted a break from the lively conversation we're having." I deadpan, gesturing towards the book with a wave. "Ever since we got our supplies, you've buried yourself in those books. You don't even want to _practice_ anymore. Tired of me kicking your arse?"

"We only have a couple of more weeks until Hogwarts starts." He lets the insult roll off of him and reaches for a napkin to wipe his face with. "I want to make sure that I know everything so I don't forget anything when a professor questions me."

"That's an excellent goal." I agree with him. I've been afraid of that, too. "Or, it would be if you hadn't already gone through the course book with me again. Don't you think that Hogwarts should be reviewing this stuff with us? I don't think there's a need to memorize everything in the text. No one likes a know-it-all."

Theo closes the Potions book as calmly as he can and folds his arms in front of me, staring me down and reminding me of Father in a way that makes me wince. "In a hypothetical world, what if a professor calls on me to answer something, and I embarrass myself - and, by extension, _you_ \- by not properly answering a question? I'd bring shame upon our family."

I hum under my breath, pretending to mull this over. After letting him hold that position for a while, I stand up just enough to open the book back up again and shove it towards him. "Don't do that. We have the same face. It would be impossible for me to deny that I'm related to you."

"Shouldn't you be studying too?" He asks dryly, shifting his attention back down.

"I would be, normally, but I'm going to Diagon Alley today." I sigh. "Neville's forgotten a lot of the school supplies when we were running through that last check up, so I'm going with him to ensure that he doesn't forget anything else."

"No Lady Longbottom?" Theo sounds surprised, but I shake my head in response. "Great, I'll go with, then. There's this book I want to pick up."

I snap my fingers. "Vaniel! Come here with our cloaks. We're ready to leave!"

I hate the floo.

* * *

"You have your work robes, right?" Thea asks Neville, crossing the item off of the checklist she made. My sister was too organized sometimes. "And a pointed hat?"

"Yes." Neville nods.

"How about gloves?" I ask. "I'm partial to protecting my hands."

"Very wise." Thea nods her head seriously. "You'll need gloves to _hand_le things in Herbology and Potions."

I snicker at the pun, but it seems to go over Neville's head. "And a winter cloak. Or, in Thea's case, six."

"That's cause Parkinson will make fun of her if she doesn't have loads of them." Bless him, he actually looks proud of the insult.

I can tell by the way Thea's nose wrinkles that she isn't as amused as the two of us.

"Uh, yeah." He fixes the smile on his face. She smiles at him like he's done nothing wrong, but fixes me with a sneer. "I have all of that. The course books too, I think."

"You have them." Thea waves her list around. "I made sure to check with Lady Longbottom before Vaniel brought us."

"What's missing then?" I snatch the list out of her hand. "A cauldron, phials, and scales?"

"I have a cauldron!" Neville reaches for the list, but I hold it out of his grasp with a raised eyebrow.

"It's the wrong size." Thea rolls her eyes and directs us both in the direction of the apothecary. "I think they might have some here, and you're going to need a new wand, too. The one you have does _not_ work for you."

"But-"

"No." She cuts him off quickly, rolling the parchment up and sticking it in her bag. "You're terrible with that wand. You couldn't even cast the easiest charm. You need another one."

I can't even argue with her. Thea's utter rubbish when it comes to learning a spell. It takes her forever to finally be able to understand it, but, when she does, they come out far more powerful than mine. I'm more of a teacher than she is, and even I've tried teaching Neville some of the simpler stuff we've gone over. I've even asked Josce to look over some lesson plans I have for him. She always approves them, but it's a painfully slow process.

He needs a new wand. His grandmother obviously isn't aware of the damage she's causing him by holding him back, but he does. I just don't want to be around when they go and get it.

After all, Pappous hates that half-blood, and I don't want him to find out his grandchildren have been there.

"Right." I clear my throat. "I'll catch up with you later then. I'll be in Flourish and Blotts or Scribbulus Writing Instruments. I'll let you know when I switch stores."

Thea shrugs and prods Neville forward, ignoring the confused look on his face. That probably means she hasn't told him she can hear me in her head. All the better, he'd think we were crazy. "Pick me up some more of those ink-quills and after we've stopped by at Potage's, I'll nab you some new gloves from Twilfitt and Tatting's."

"Deal." I grin and squeeze her wrist once before disappearing into the crowd.

Lady Malfoy takes Thea out shopping from time to time, probably feeling terrible that my poor little sister doesn't have a mum of her own to take her. I find it hilarious because she comes back with this haunted look on her face from the amount of time she has spent at Twilfitt and Tatting's. Lady Malfoy picks her up in the morning right after breakfast, and then she doesn't get back until after dinner. Vaniel always has to keep something warm for her. In comparison, she spends maybe two or three hours shopping with Alaya and her Mama when they go to the boutiques in Athens.

Father and I don't spend roughly that amount of time getting me what I need.

I could live in Flourish and Blotts. That isn't to say that I don't have an impressive library back at the Villa, but there are more publications here than I could go through in a while. Thea might laugh at my enthusiasm, but I have no doubt in my mind she'll be asking me questions about classes later. We'll probably sit in the common room at Hogwarts and work on our homework together, as we always have.

"But, Mum!"

I know that voice anywhere. I may have only spent a day with her, but Lavender Brown's voice is easy to recognize, high-pitched and grating on my ears. I nab the closest paperback to me and hold it up to block my face as I try to sneak across the store.

_So I owled him. 'Tell me you read it.'_

_'Well, I haven't finished it. It's six hundred fifty-one pages long, and I've had twenty four hours.'_

_'How far are you'_

_'Four fifty-three.'_

_'And?'_

_'I will withhold judgement until I finish. However, I will say that I'm feeling a bit embarrassed to have given you-'_

I'm not sure what I'm reading, but I'm almost thankful to bump into someone. Or, I am until I look at her. It only takes one look to know. She _has_ to be a mudblood. No one respectable would let their hair look like _that_.

I think I've been spending too much time around Thea and Celena.

"Sorry." I try my hardest not to sound too disgusted. I almost back away entirely until I catch sight of what she has in her arms. "Merlin, tell me you're _not_ about to get the Harry Potter Adventure books."

I'm a little proud of the scandalized look that overtakes her features. I almost grin, but instead turn on my heel and look through the books that we're by. I set down '_The Fault In Our Blood_' without another thought to it and pick up '_Modern Magical History' _and_ 'Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.'_

"There - this way you can read all about Potter and not get misguided by events that someone our age couldn't possibly do." I don't hand her the books. I merely set them down on one of the small tables and stare at her flatly. "Theodore Nott."

"I'm Hermione Granger." She smiles brightly and sticks her front hand out. Merlin, does she have a big set of front teeth. The poor _skoupídia_ probably doesn't realize there is a spell to fix that. "I'll be sure to look at those. I was looking for a few extra books do so some background reading. Nobody in my family's magic at all. I was so surprised when I got my letter," she says in a rush. "But I was ever so pleased as well. I know it's the best school of witchcraft there is - I mean, I've read up a couple on some of the others. I've already learned all of our course books by heart, I'm just hoping it will be enough."

"_Listen._" I stress, gritting my teeth and trying very hard not to reach for my wand to silence her. "What a fascinating life story, really. I'd love to hear more about how surprised and pleased you are, but I'm afraid I have to go." I hold up my hand when she opens her mouth. "No, don't say anything. You'll ruin it."

"Ruin what?" Hermione asks, seemingly confused.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to be related to Hector Dagworth-Granger, would you?" I take the look of confusion on her face to mean no. "That's a shame. You might have actually been interesting."

"Might have been?" She trails off, eyes wide.

"We could have had a great friendship." I'm not at all wistful. I'm not. "Unfortunately, we're from two entirely different social circles, and I imagine you're every bit of a know-it-all I am. It could never work. No, Hermione Granger." I refocus my attention. "I'm afraid this is where I go off to Scribbulus Writing Instruments lamentably without a book. _Antío_."

* * *

"Ah, Theo left for Scribbulus." I tilt my head at the news and smile at Neville. "That took him longer than I expected. We've already gotten everything we needed."

Neville grunts, but that's what he gets for holding on to everything. I warned him this would happen if we sent Vaniel away, so I don't feel too terribly. "Remind me never to go shopping with you."

"Nonsense." I wave him off, grabbing onto his sleeve and dragging him towards the ice cream shop. "I'll buy us some. I'm in the mood for strawberry."

"You don't have to buy me anything." He doesn't stop following me. "You've helped me enough."

"Neville - we're really going to have to do something about your confidence. Besides, tack this on as another birthday presen-" I stop abruptly, staring at the very large man also headed for the small shop. "What is he wearing?"

"Looks like moleskin." Neville inches closer.

"Looks like it should be thrown out." I correct him, but do keep moving. Nothing's going to keep me from getting that strawberry ice cream, least of all being distracted by some giant man. We stand behind him in line for five minutes before Neville pulls me to the side to make sure he doesn't bump into me. "Actually, that doesn't look too bad."

I end up getting strawberry and raspberry with chopped nuts.

_'Where are you?'_ I can feel Theo frowning.

_'Following a giant man - heading towards Madam Malkin, I think.'_

_'Great, I see you. Have my gloves?'_

"Yes." I say out loud instead, waving at Theo.

"Yes what?" Neville blinks at the two of us.

We ignore him in favor of listening to the colorful commentary that Theo provides.

"Is that Malfoy?" Neville gestures towards the blond. We promptly forget about the tall man and turn our attention to the blond.

"Does Lady Malfoy know he's shopping there?" I wrinkle my nose. "This is definitely not her style."

"It was probably Lord Malfoy's idea. Father and I go here, too." Theo rolls his eyes, but shifts his attention somewhere else. "You're going to use this as an opportunity to make fun of him, aren't you?"

"What kind of 'friend' would I be if I didn't?" I ask him cheerfully, waving at Draco and offering my twin my cone.

"A good one?" Neville tries.

I freeze and turn around to stare at him with a hurt expression on my face. "Why would you ever suggest I was friends with Draco Malfoy - that prat?"

He opens and closes his mouth without an option, and I snicker at his response. He's heard me complain enough times that I brighten when he doesn't have anything to say.

"Oh." Theo blinks slowly. "I forgot to get your pen."

"Seriously?" I shove him and give him a reproachful glare. "I'll get it. You two stay here. I'll be faster on my own."

Neville looks at Malfoy out of the corner of his eye before protesting. "I'll stay with you if it's all the same."

"That's okay. You have too much stuff in your arms, unless you're volunteering to pick up some more?"

"He'll stay with me. I'm not going in there." Theo says, shooing me away.

I leave Theo with the rest of my ice cream, and I do see the giant man again. He's familiar, but I can't place my finger on it. He's at Scribbulus, standing just outside the door. I pause at the door and stare at him briefly. When he smiles at me, I dart inside the store.

I do meet Harry Potter. He's not at all what I expected; small and skinny with knees that look like they would give out if I so much as poked them as hard as I do Neville.

"Are you with that man?" I ask him, looking over my shoulder.

"Erm." He stares at me suspiciously. His hands tighten around the ink well.

"I've been trying to figure out his name." I continue, ignoring him as if he hadn't tried to chime into the conversation. "It starts with an H, right?"

"That's Hagrid." Harry says slowly.

"There you go!" I snap my fingers and grin at him, trying to keep from looking devious. "He's the groundskeeper, isn't he? Stays on the grounds and looks after the animals; that sort of thing."

"Yes." At least his grip isn't about to destroy that ink well anymore. It would get everywhere if he did, probably ruin my robes. "He's brilliant."

I don't agree with him, but I don't disagree outloud. I try to think of something he would do. He hasn't been raised as a pureblood, so bowing or curtsying would look odd to him. I stick out my hand, albeit awkwardly. This isn't proper. "I'm Dorothea Nott."

"Harry Potter." He looks at my hand and shakes it.

"Are you really?" I try to act surprised, but it falls a little flat. "Happy Birthday, right?"

He drops my hand, and the cautious look is back on his face. He reminds me of Neville when we first met.

"That's a fun bottle of ink, although not very practical for classes." I reach out and take it from him, peering at it. "It changes color when you write. It's more for fun, casual letters to friends."

"Oh." Yes, just like Neville when we first met. No matter, I managed to make a friend out of Neville. I can at least make an acquaintance out of Potter or undo the damage Draco's probably done.

"How about this?" I lean forward and grab his wrist, turning on my heel and heading towards the ink filled quills. "I'll buy you this for your birthday - and throw in some ink filled quills. They're incredibly useful - and you use this to owl me or Neville Longbottom, okay? I think the Longbottoms and Potters are old family friends. Neville's really sweet and not at all like that bugger you met at Madam Malkin's."

"I - you - uh." He stutters, ducking his head down.

"I didn't hear anything." I say this as gently as I can, handing off the items to the shopkeeper. "I know how he is. I'd be willing to bet you he was being a berk, wasn't he?" I take his silence as confirmation.

"Do you also," his voice is so low I have to lean in to hear him. "think that people from Muggle families shouldn't be allowed into Hogwarts?"

I feel my mouth press into a line, and I know that I'm going to be having a lot of mixed words for Draco the next time I see him. Better yet, I'll probably have a lot to say to Theo in regards to choosing who he befriends and the social damage a young "Lord" can create.

"I believe that purebloods and half-bloods, which is what you are, have the potential and means to be better than mud-muggleborns." I say this slowly. "This potential is often...squandered with ideals of superiority. But, if they don't work and keep at it, then it's obvious the muggleborns are going to do better. It's all about maintaining and cultivating what you have."

"I'm a half-blood?" Bless his heart, I just want to hug him. Unfortunately, that would be an unseeming thing to do in public to someone of the opposite gender and not family. Instead, I pat his arm and gesture towards Hagrid.

"I'm sure he'll answer any questions you have. I have to get back to my brother. It was very nice to meet you, Harry Potter. I'm certain we'll see each other again."

* * *

Funny, those words, because they are exactly what I tell Alaya and Celena when I meet up with them two weeks later. I was here last year, outside the gates of Plato Academy wishing them a good school year. Unlike Hogwarts and many other magical schools, Plato's Academy of Magic hides in plain sight. It looks like a University from the outside, but is known to be a 'private' boarding school that's exceedingly expensive and exceptionally exclusive. I'm not so lucky as to be able to wish them good-bye at the gates this year, since I'll be leaving for Hogwarts the same day their term starts.

"You'll be fine, Celena." I pat her back as comfortingly as I can.

We've just spent the night at Alaya's together, and Celena's Mama has come for her sooner than Pappous has for me. It was a nice night. We read the latest _Witch Weekly_, _Flourish_, and _TWitch_ magazines, acknowledging how terrible they are (Alaya) and arguing that the boys on the cover are worth it (Celena.)

"We'll write each other all the time." She sniffs. "You'll tell us all about Hogwarts, and I'll tell you how Socratis Fourlis won't leave Alaya alone."

"You'll do no such thing." Alaya deadpans, shooing her off. "I'll meet you at the gate, Remes."

She hugs me again before her Mama calls for her again.

"Enjoy your schooling, _néa_." Lady Remes smiles at me from the door before taking Celena and disappearing with a pop.

"Are you nervous?" Alaya asks, reaching into the closet and pulling out a chess board with a knowing smile. She's going to win. I'm rubbish at chess.

"What's there to be nervous about? I'll be in Slytherin with Theo and probably Malfoy. The only thing is that I'll have to be sharing a room with Parkinson."

"You're not afraid something terrible is going to happen?" She moves a piece forward expertly, and clicks her tongue when I move a pawn.

"It's Hogwarts." I laugh. "The best defended school. What could possibly go wrong?"

AN: So, there you have it! A meeting with Potter, some light-hearted Draco bashing (all in good fun, not actual bashing~) Now, there is a poll up in my profile that I would be super grateful if y'all took it. I'll be taken down at the next update. It's sort of to see where you guys want to see the twins, Neville and Harry sorted. I have a good idea of where I want them to go, but I'm welcome to opinions.

Also, please review! It's a little disheartening to see so many of you follow and favorite and not review. (That being said, thank you guest reviewer!) I would never be the author that withheld posting for an x amount of reviews, but it would let my muse know you guys like what it comes up with.

Conventibus Inopinatus - Unexpected Meetings  
skoupídia - trash  
Antío - goodbye or bye  
I̱míaimos - half-blood  
néa - young one


	8. Eight

**Disclaimer**: I definitely don't own Harry Potter. Why anyone would think I did is, frankly, hilarious.

AN: _I was going to try to get this out on Friday, but stuff happened and that wasn't possible. Therefore, you should probably be thankful that _**GetWithIt**_ looked over this last week, haha. We now have or looking over this and making sure I don't have many mistakes. You are _**10**_ reviews (up 2 from last time!), _**48**_ follows (up 7 from last time!), _**28**_ favorites (up 6 from last time!), and _**1,947**_ views (up 432 from last update!) You guys are the best! _

* * *

Theodore and I spend the last night at Nott Villa holed up in my room. I lean back against my pillows and flip the page of the Astronomy text. I suppose it's a shame that I'm not on good terms with Malfoy. Having Black ancestry would certainly come in handy while learning the stars; although, I suppose it's just a theory. Theo has his head on my lap and his legs hanging off the side of the bed. I'm not sure what he's reading - the diary of some historical figure he finds fascinating.

I'm not sure when we'll get a chance like this again. In the Villa, we're safe from others' eyes. Father doesn't care what we do so long as we don't embarrass him and study when he tells us to. Prynne stopped by earlier to tell us goodbye and warn me not to get in any duels that would bring him shame. Pappous is somewhere in the guest wing, asleep. He spent most of yesterday telling us what we would have done had we gone to Plato's Academy. It's not a secret there. It's supposed to be against "tradition" for alumni to tell us how we're going to be sorted into the different houses.

Father doesn't like to leave us unprepared. At dinner, he told us exactly what would happen.

_"Sorting hat?" Theodore scowls. "That is the biggest anticlimactic thing I could have thought of. No exam - no trying to guess what we know already? Is there a chance to skip ahead?"_

_Father doesn't bat an eye. "No. You'll just have to make due."_

_"I suppose it's too late to enter Plato's." I muse slowly. "Pappous?"_

_"Much too late, my dear." Pappous laughs. "Although, I have no doubt you would catch and surpass your friends quickly."_

_"I'd rather stay with Hogwarts for that reasoning." Theodore scowls. "I would be exiled from Greece if I had to stay in a room with Latsis for eight years."_

"Imagine being sorted into Hufflepuff." He closes the book and throws it off to the side to look at me. "We have the qualities for it."

"No, we don't." I snort. Loyalty is one thing, sure, but neither of us are particularly patient. Nor do we believe in working _hard_. It's so much easier to work _smarter_. "It'll be Ravenclaw or Slytherin. I'm strongly in favor of the latter."

He tuts under his breath, but nods in agreement. "Draco and Blaise will be Slytherin for sure. What about Neville?"

"I'm thinking Hufflepuff for him." I shrug my shoulder. "His parents were in Gryffindor, though, as were his grandparents. I imagine he'll want to follow in their footsteps."

"Bletchley and co. are in Slytherin, too." He grabs the Astronomy text from me and flings it in the direction of his own book. "Funny how most of our playmates will be. Developing social connections at a young age has it's values, I guess."

"I'm fairly certain Brown isn't going to be in Slytherin." I remark brightly, pushing his hair from his forehead. It's softer than mine. "Parkinson and Greengrass might be though. Bones will go to Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. Same with Macmillan."

We're both quiet for a little while. I almost think he's fallen asleep on me when I hear him.

'_Do you ever wonder if Mama would be proud of us?_'

He says it in such a small voice that I almost don't catch what he's saying, even though he's right there. This...connection we share is always stronger when we're near one another.

"I think so." I twirl a lock of hair in my finger. "I think she'd be happy that we made friends and actually get our lessons done. We used to hate it."

"No, we hated playing those instruments." Theo corrects. "Remember when you used to hide your clarinet in my piano?"

I laugh because it was such a terrible hiding spot. I know I should have come up with better ones. "The strings on your cello used to snap when you missed a note."

It's nice to just lay there and reminisce. Theo and I are together a lot, though not as much as we used to be. I don't remember a time in the past couple of months where I'd have felt as close to him as I do right now. When I finally shove him off my stomach, I grab a pillow and toss it to him. We lay down opposite each other horizontally. We're just short enough that our legs don't dangle off.

"Hey." He whispers just when I switch off the light. If I didn't know any better, I'd say his tone was nervous. "Do you think we- let me see your hand."

* * *

"You're both to be on your best behavior." Father says, glancing down at his watch. "I'm not to receive a letter about you, lest it's telling me that you're top of the class."

"Yes, Father." Theo and I both nod our heads at him.

"You are expected to pay attention to every single class, even if it seems like a review or a waste of time. Education is never a waste of time."

This is directed more at Theo than at me, so I don't vocalize my agreement this time. That's what he gets for continuously pouring over those books. Ever since we got back from Diagon Alley with Neville, he had been all the more determined to memorize every single little thing.

I'm only a smidgen better at hiding it from Father.

"However, I expect you both to remain well rounded. You are to keep practicing your duelling, and to send me or Prynne an owl if you have any questions." His mouth curves at the edge, and he reaches out to put a hand on each of our heads. "I'm very proud of you both. If your Mother were here, I'm sure she would tell you the same."

Theo makes a little strangled noise in the back of his throat, but he looks away. I can only just see the tint of red against his cheeks. Father doesn't stay for long after that. Just long enough to see us onboard the train. He lifted our trunks onto the train easily enough with a wave of his wand and pressed a chaste and hurried kiss to our foreheads.

"I'm lucky Draco wasn't here to see that." Theo wrinkles his nose, glancing around again to make sure. Similar habits as well, I suppose.

"Don't be such a prat." I roll my eyes, dragging my trunk behind me until we could find an empty compartment. "It's barely nine. We have some time to find a place to sit and save it until Malfoy and Neville show up."

"What about your new friend, Harry Potter?" He snickers.

I shouldn't have told him. I expected Potter to write to me or Neville. They noticed that I was getting a little more and more put out over the break, and it wasn't until I had said my goodbyes to Alaya and Celena that I finally caved in and told them why. Neville confirmed that no one had, aside from myself, written him anything. I assume the impression Malfoy had left was enough to do us all in.

"He didn't want anything to do with me. So, unless he apologizes…" I trail off, shaking my head. "Good enough?"

It wasn't at the end, but I didn't want to deal with anyone's antics. The ends of the trains are always so popular. Theo doesn't say anything, but he does step in first. He lifts one end and I pick up the other end. Once we manage to get everything squared away, he plops down into the corner seat and pulls out the book from last night.

He ignores my exasperated look.

"Right. I'll stay here and you can go look for them."

"Look for Neville, you mean." I frown reproachfully. "I'm not going out to look for Malfoy for you."

"He'll find me on his own, I'm sure." Theo shrugs and turns the page casually. "If you see a girl with bushy hair and two giant front teeth, let me know."

I stare at him curiously. "Why?"

He lowers the book just a little. He dons the look of someone haunted. "I need to hide."

* * *

I don't find Neville immediately. I don't even find him before the train pulls away from the station. I slide onto the train not long after the final whistle and continue my search for him. Theo's voice chimes into my head, making sure I didn't get left behind.

Imagine that.

I also get dragged into other compartments. In my search for Longbottom, I get dragged into different conversations. There are things that I learn; Harper is still bitter that I showed him up about the duel. Ernest makes friends easily with a couple of other kids. He introduces me and asks me if I want to sit down with them.

"No, thank you." I nod my head in appreciation. "I'm looking for Neville."

"He was by earlier." Abbott gestures. "He was with some girl looking for his toad."

Ernest and I share a glance, "Trevor."

I know all about the little toad. Neville's complained about it enough times already. I don't understand why he doesn't just let it loose. It wasn't as if it wanted to stay with him; it was always trying to get away.

"Right. Well, I best be off to help him." I stand quickly and smile tightly at them. "Nice to meet you all. I'll see you at Hogwarts, Macmillan."

I'm not so lucky, though. The compartment next to theirs confirms that a boy and a girl were looking for a toad, but that they moved on. The compartment after that is Miles and his friends.

"Princess!" He laughs, pulling me in by the sleeve. "Fawcett, I assume you remember Dorothea Nott?"

"You're going to get tired of calling me that eventually." I grimace some.

"I doubt it." Fawcett rolls her eyes. "He's been adamant not calling me by my first name since we met."

"Besides," Puecy adds. "He's been calling you that for years. Especially when you won duelling. Harper came back complaining that some little girl managed to best him. Looks like our little Princess has _some_ bite."

The Princess also has self restraint. I don't tell them this, but they should be very lucky that I didn't want to get in trouble early on. Otherwise, I might have shown him just how easily I had beaten Harper.

"Yes, well I had proper training." I say instead.

"I imagine so." Miles laughs. "Your father's PAC's are some of the best known worldwide. Rumor is Prynne Parkinson works for him."

"That's true." I agree. "He was my trainer for the competition."

They all stare at this response. I take their silence as the perfect time to escape.

"I'll see you lot later." I wiggle my fingers. "I'm going to go look for Neville."

'_Where are you?_' Theo muses. '_Blaise and Draco are both here already...with Crabbe and Goyle._'

'_I can't find him._' I moan. '_People keep talking to me. They won't let me search. I think I'm going to go through three more compartments and then give up. We'll probably see him before the Sorting._'

I see Pansy and Daphne sitting opposite each other with magazines in their hands. I don't knock on their compartment, but I do make a face at Daphne when she looks up at me. She looks briefly at Pansy and makes a face in return.

"-fat rat yellow."

I am very lucky, I suppose, that the last room I try is the one that has Neville in it. I'm not fortunate enough that I miss Potter.

"All right, Neville?" I ask, taking in the appearance of everyone else in the room. Bushy hair, big front teeth; I found the girl Theo was referring to. I know who she is, too, but I can't quite place my finger on the name.

"Thea!" He looks relieved and moves to flank me rather than sit next to the girl. "I've been looking for you."

"And Trevor, I believe." I tut, but I'm smiling at him too. "Made some friends?"

"I wouldn't say that…" He trails off right as the girl stands, finished with whatever she was going on about before.

"I'm Hermione Granger." She says this very matter-of-factly and sticks her hand out.

I shake it wearily as everything comes back to me. Of _course_ this would be Hermione Granger.

"Dorothea Nott." I say and pull my hand back immediately. "Thank you, but I'll take it from here. Come on, Nev, I'm sure one of the older students will get Trevor back for you, and Theo's saving us a spot closer to the middle."

"Do you mean Theodore Nott?" Hermione brightens at the thought, dismissing Harry Potter and his redheaded friend - Weasley, something Weasley.

"Yes?"

"You'll have to thank him for me!" She says this quickly, latching onto my arm. "He helped me get a couple of books in Diagon Alley - no one in my family's magical, you see, and I was overwhelmed and didn't know what to get. We spoke briefly about how great of a school Hogwarts was, and I mentioned that I learned all of our course books by heart, and he mentioned that he belonged in a different social circle, but I don't really understand what he meant by it."

I'm still processing what she's said - she actually spoke to Theo? Theo acknowledged a mudblood? - when Weasley scowls at me.

"You can let go of me now." I say this very slowly, drawing my arm back from her with a tight look. Hermione's pinks take on that pink tinge, but she doesn't look any less excited. "I don't take messages to my brother."

"But, I-"

"No. I don't do it." I say this firmly, tugging on Neville now. "Anyway, he told me to tell him if you were near so he could hide. Obviously, you didn't leave a good impression. I can't fathom why. Bye, Harry Potter, Weasley."

* * *

I find Thea's story to be hilarious. None of us are really sure how to react when she comes in storming. I've never seen her face that shade of red before. I see Draco and Blaise exchange wary looks, and Draco switches seats so he's sitting with the rest of them. My twin slumps to my side and mutters angrily.

"I saw her. The know-it-all muggleborn you were avoiding."

"She's not so bad." Neville defends the girl.

We all shake our heads at him. We're all friends, I think. We all attend the same pureblood gathers and interact with one another. Lady Longbottom is never exactly pleased that her grandson hangs around the likes of Draco and myself - what with us being a smidgen more cruel than Blaise and Thea in our ways - but she likes the two of them much more.

I, who read much more adamantly and am far less social than my twin, am considered the bad one. I scarcely believe it.

"-and I find Neville, finally!" She throws her hands up, scowling. "He was with that muggleborn, Potter, and Weasley.

This peaks Draco's interest. "You say Potter's on the train?"

If I had been a particularly good friend, I would have warned Draco that my sister was not very pleased with him at the moment. I would have warned him to keep his mouth shut most of the trip, lest he invites her to tear him to shreds. I'm not that good of a friend, and I find it hilarious when Thea turns on on other people.

"Yes, you prat." She points at him, sitting up. "You left a horrible impression on him at Madam Malkin's. He's not like us. You can't just assume that he is. If you see him again, you're going to apologize."

"Oh, am I?" Draco rolls his eyes and looks at me like I'm going to agree with him.

'_Don't. You. Dare._' Thea seeths, her hand digging into my wrist.

"Ow." I complain, scooting over until my arm is pressing into the window. "I'm not backing you up, mate."

"Yes, you are." She seems satisfied with my answer and turns back to the blond. "Alienating the Boy-Who-Lived and leaving him with Weasley. You insult him, and you'll get him turned away from us faster than I kicked your arse. Think of the political ramifications."

Now, I know that Thea doesn't care about politics. She isn't the oldest, so she doesn't have to worry about inheriting Father's Lordship when he passes away. The worst that will happen is that she'll have to be 'Lady Nott' until I get married. She's pointed it out to me enough times. So, I'm immediately suspicious of what she says and stare at her incredulously. The only other person in the compartment who knows her half as well does, too. At least Neville isn't slow on the uptake.

Her effect on Malfoy works anyway. His pale face blanches more, and he's quick to get to his feet.

"I suppose I'll go find him then."

"I suppose you will." Thea turns and gestures towards both me and Blaise. "Go on, then. He'll make a right mess of things if he goes alone."

"We'll go." Crabbe grunts, looking to get to his feet.

Thea pulls out her wand in a second, pointing it at the Crabbe and Goyle. "Vincent Crabbe, no you will not. Imagine the two of you staring over Draco's shoulders. You will sit where you are, pull out a textbook, and _try_ to absorb some knowledge before we get to Hogwarts. Merlin knows you didn't think to look at them before."

"Your sister is terrifying in her own way." Blaise says calmly as we stroll down the hallway looking for Potter. She had the decency to tell us where he was.

"I think so." I agree with him wholeheartedly. She's been that way since we were younger. It's rare to find Thea so uncomposed. The last time - well, I don't like to dwell on it.

"I found him, if you two are finished." Draco scowls and pulls the compartment open without waiting for either of us to say anything. "Is it true? They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

That idiot. No one's said anything. It's likely Potter doesn't feel comfortable with all the attention. Or, maybe he does?

"Theodore Nott." I say, before Draco can introduce me. I don't offer my hand, though. "That's Blaise Zabini."

"And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." My friend says this so proudly, and yet so carelessly at the same time, that I want to slap my hand to my forehead.

I can tell by the look on Blaise's face that he's in agreement, at least.

Weasley coughs to hide the chuckle he would have otherwise had. It draws Draco's attention to him immediately.

"Think my name's funny, do you?" Draco's face is reddening. "No need to ask who you are."

"Weasley, right?" Blaise cuts in, crossing his arms in front of him.

_That's_ what Thea meant.

"Ron Weasley." _Ron_ says through grit teeth.

"With a lot of siblings." I nod and settle down in the seat closest to the door after squeezing past Draco. "Don't know how you manage it. I only have a sister, and I'm ready to kill her half the time."

Blaise follows my lead and sits next to Potter, eyeing Malfoy. "Don't lie, Nott. I've never seen the two of you actually argue."

"Just because you can't see it." I shake my head at him and nudge Ron. "Sisters, right?"

'_Don't think that he's a blood traitor. Ignore the fact that he's a blood traitor._' I tell myself.

'_What?_' Thea's voice chimes in confusion not a second later.

I ignore her and nod my head in satisfaction when Draco seats himself next to me once more. "Now, what were you chaps going on about?"

A suspicious looks crosses Ron's face, and he doesn't look like he's enjoying us gracing ourselves down next to him.

"Quidditch." Harry says helpfully. "Ron was going through the best parts."

I don't hide my groan as both Blaise and Draco lean forward helpfully to chime in.

It's _always_ Quidditch.

* * *

"Theo!" I say, pulling Neville over to my twin and his new friends.

I don't want to say that I'm proud of the fact that I got them all together, but I sort of am. We've all got our robes on, and I'd be lying if I said we weren't shivering. I fold myself into my brother and don't say anything when he throws an arm over me.

"You'll be fine." He laughs, but he's quivering as badly as I am.

"Hello, Dorothea." Harry says shyly, but sticks firmly on Theo's other side as we start walking.

"Thea, Harry." I correct him with a small smile.

'_Everything went well?_' I raise an eyebrow at my brother.

He smirks and nods his head. '_He's not bad. A little shy, but fun. Can't sort him._'

'_He's not a Gryffindor?_' I'm shocked. I could have sworn that I remembered that much.

My brother shrugs ('_Not if you talk to him, no._'), but we shuffle in with the rest and follow after Hagrid down a narrow path. No one spoke much, and we nearly lost Neville. I had to reach out and grab his wrist to keep him up with us. Blaise and Draco had bunched up with Weasley in front of us, seemingly getting along.

'_Weasley, too? Draco?_'

'_Ron is Harry's friend. Draco and Blaise want to befriend him, so they'll be hard pressed to argue with him. It's more like a temporary truce. No doubt it'll fall apart once we're all sorted._'

"Wow." I whisper, half as a response to Theo and half at the view of Hogwarts. I had spent nights dreaming of this that I'm in complete awe of the castle against the starry sky.

"No more'n four to a boat!" The giant man calls down pointing at them.

"You four go on ahead." Theo gestures for Harry to join the group in front of us. "We'll find someone else to come with us."

We both make a point to give Blaise a pointed look and redirect our eyes towards Malfoy. Zabini smirks at the blond's indignant look.

No one said a single thing as we crossed the lake. Perhaps Theo and I were lucky after all because Granger purposefully chose the boat next to us, and we were joined by Macmillan. We all huddled together underneath the long, dark tunnel. When we reached the harbor, I saw the look of panic all over Neville's face.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?"

"Just leave it." Theo says seriously, mouth pressing into a firm line. "That thing is always running away from you."

Neville holds Trevor close to him and shakes his head defiantly. We rejoin our little gang of misfits - honestly, it's a little surprising that out of the seven of us, there's only one half-blood - up the flight of stone steps.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" Hagrid waits for Neville to nod ('_Unfortunately._') before knocking on the huge castle doors.

* * *

AN: So, there you have it! Don't forget to vote in the poll on my profile! It's going to be taken down, soon. I'm very curious to see what you guys think.

Grata Domum - Welcome Home


	9. Nine

**Disclaimer**: I own a copy of Narcissa's wand! That means I own all of Harry Potter, right?

AN: _Thank you,_ **GetWithIt**_, for looking over this! We are up to _**12**_ reviews, (up 2 from last time!), _**50**_ follows (up 2 from last time!), _**31**_ favorites (up 3 from last time!), and _**2,267**_ (up 320 from last time!). You guys are amazing! _

**_wolfzero7:_**_Imagine living in a different environment for 11 years. In that environment, you're constantly being told that so-and-so is evil and __interfering __with your beliefs. Not only that, but then something traumatic happened to you that proved, on some level, that everything you've been told is true. Thea's memories of Abby are vague, especially after her mini-coma when the twins were eight. That's why her views have shifted some, although I can promise she's not as extreme as some of the others (Theo, included.)_

* * *

I marvel at everything; everything. Hogwarts beyond just beautiful or magnificent. It is so much more than just impressive. I feel as though I've seen a lot of magic. I'm accustomed to a seeing a variety of encharmed objects move on their own, sure, but the portraits and the suits of armor here are different. Pappous' Chateau has a pair of ghosts that mostly reside on the grounds, and _every_ magical family I've ever encountered has moving portraits connecting places. Still, Hogwarts is different. It's like a dream.

For all I've become used to, I never really imagined that Hogwarts would look and feel like _this_. There are magical signatures everywhere. I'm familiar with encharmed objects, yes, but I have never felt a building as clearly as this one. It's like it was built with the intention of being fascinating to all who enter it.

I'm not the only one who's struck by the beauty. Everyone's eyes are going this way and that - by the time Professor McGonagall has us form into two lines, we're all overwhelmed. We've lost Neville somewhere in the crowd - Potter and Weasley, too. I think I can just see the top of Draco's head a couple of people ahead of us. Theo stays rooted in the right line next to me, staring blankly as someone asks him to scoot back.

We're all ushered forward. If the Entrance Hall was a sight to see, it's an outdated broom cupboard compared to the Great Hall. The magical signatures explode from the different directions once we're marched into the room. A sea of candles burn brightly above our heads, illuminating a nighttime sky above. The students are separated by the four tables - one for every house. We have to walk by them until we stand at the very front, facing the other students and the teachers behind us. I didn't want to stare at a bunch of people I didn't know, so I focused my eyes on the familiar faces of the Slytherins.

Miles smirks at me when I met his eyes, so I focus on Nova instead.

Then, the Hat starts _singing_. We all whirl around in amusement to stare at it. Remembering something from over 11 years ago, however briefly, was something...actually getting to see the hat was something else entirely. When it finishes, we all burst into a loud applause.

…

"Listen up, you lot." Elora Bole coughs, getting up from the Slytherin table after Dumbledore's dismissed us from dinner. "Normally the fifth years would do this, but as I'm Head Girl this year...you'll all be following me down to the dungeons. Form two lines and don't go shoving each other. We're all dignified here."

So, we do. I fall in line behind Daphne and in front of Blaise. It's not a long trek to the dungeons. Almost too quickly, Elora is standing in front of a wet wall and staring down at us.

"You should know that the password changes every fortnight. There will always be a notice so that you aren't left mucking about. No one, and I mean _no one_, is to bring anyone from another house into the common room or tell them our password. _No outsider_ has entered it for centuries, and you don't want to be the idiot that messes that up, got it?" She doesn't wait for any of us to nod before she turns around and taps the wall. "_Coninctis_."

The Slytherin common room isn't cozy. The way everything is set up, the room seems dungeon-like with its green lamps and dark green button-tufted leather sofas. I'm not certain, mostly because I'm too dignified to double-take, but I'm almost certain I saw skulls carved into the wall. The most interesting thing are the small statues of snakes engraved into the mantle pieces and around the room.

"I've met most of you already." Elora starts, pacing in front of us with look of bored indifference. When she says this, she does spare a glance at one of the other girls. I hadn't managed to catch her name. "For those of you who don't know, I'm Elora Bole; Head Girl and proud member of the Noble House of Slytherin. It's my job to clear up several myths. We are not all villainous, spineless cowards. We've had our fair share of dark wizards, but the other houses have as well. I urge you all strongly to ignore them when they, inevitably, bring it up.

"Secondly, I don't give a damn if you're a pureblood, a half-blood, or a mudblood. All that matters is that the Sorting Hat somehow thought that you belonged here. I don't care what you say to anyone else from the other houses, but you will respect your fellow Slytherins while I am here. Understand?" She glares darkly at Crabbe and Goyle. The two idiots are staring at her dumbly. She probably realizes that it's useless to continue. Her words are utterly lost on them. Someone shifts behind me, and I have a good inkling as to who it is.

"We stand together because none of the others can stand our attitude. Most of us were raised in wellborn households, so I'm sure you'll understand that we don't lose. We are to be _respected_, do I make myself clear? If you can't find anything intelligent to say, then you will say nothing. You will study and be prepared for every question that may be asked of you." She nodded her head. "And, for Merlin's sake, think before you act. The Weasley twins target us enough without any of us doing something stupid to really make them come after us. I'm fairly certain I'm forgetting things, but you look ready to collapse where you stand. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Or, better yet, work it out amongst yourselves. Meet back here promptly at six fifty-five, and we will all head up to the Great Hall together, no exceptions."

She dismisses us with a wave of her hand and heads over to the older group of Slytherin that waltz into the room. I spare a nod in the direction of the boys, and a half-hearted wave at a panicked look. The dorms are much better. They don't immediately remind me of home, but they are nice enough. The beds aren't quite the size most of us are accustomed to - Pansy makes sure to share this at least two or seven times. Still, the room is a sight to see in the soft shades of green and silver. Each of us have an oak bureau and a small bookcase. At least the bedding is comfortable enough. Bless Lady Malfoy for recommending the flannel pajamas.

"Feeling better, Nott?" Daphne flips a page of _TWitch_, seemingly bored.

"Much." I answer, trying not to sound short. I fail. "Imagine Potter in Slytherin. I'm certain Bole's speech was directed so they wouldn't target him."

Millicent snorts. I sit up and stare at her for such an unladylike feature, but she isn't looking at me. Instead, she's staring at the other girl in the room.

"Half-blood, then?" She presses her mouth together in a firm line.

The girl shifts nervously, but nods her head. "My mother was a pureblood, and my father a half-blood."

We all stare at her with wide eyes. Pansy sneers and looks just about ready to say something, but a sharp looks from the rest of us she shuts up with a cross of her arms. I can't speak for the others, but I've rarely interacted with half-bloods. If I'm being honest, I think the only half-blood I've really spoken to is Potter.

"There _are_ other half-bloods in Slytherin. Don't let the rumors frighten you. Call me Thea." I say lightly. "Dorothea Nott, but I suppose we will all be acquaintances."

"Daphne, or Daph if we're not in public." The blonde throws aside her magazine. "Or Greengrass in public."

"Millicent Bulstrode." She doesn't grunt, which is an improvement, but I don't like the look she shoots my way. "Millie."

"Pansy Parkinson." Pansy refrains from sneering again, but you can tell she wants to by the way the corner of her mouth twitches. "Pans works in private."

The girl smiles brightly, brushing her short hair back. "Tracey Davis - uhm, anything works."

"Trace it is." Daphne nods her head approvingly. "Do you read _TWitch_?"

"No, but I read _Flourish_…" She trails off and pulls out the magazine from her bag.

"Is that the one with Sexiest Wizards?" Millie bumbles over to her, jumping on Tracey's bed. "Tell me Gilderoy Lockhard didn't win it again."

Tracey tosses the magazine to her. We wait while she switches through the pages before groaning. "He is. Why? He's such a...a…"

"Idiot?" That's Daphne.

"Twit?" There's Tracey.

"Asinine?" I offer. "No, wait...an imbecil?"

"Dreamy?" Pansy swoons. "Dapper? Stylish?"

"A half-blood Ravenclaw?" Daphne says flatly.

Both Pansy and I deflate, though probably for different reasons. Tracey's face reddens.

…

I am not a Slytherin.

I, Theodore Nikolas Nott, am not a Slytherin. I am every bit as crafty, determined, sensible, and as absorbed with myself as the lot of them. I don't do stupid stuff before _thinking_, but I'm not a Slytherin. Thea is a Slytherin. My little sister is in a house full of people who will sooner throw her to Muggles than back down from their pride, and I'm not there to protect her. I'm too scholarly, too enamoured with reason, too intellectual. I like figuring out why things are the way they are too much that my sense of self-preservation is _just_ off. I'm so witty that it doesn't matter I'm ambitious as Morgana.

I, Theodore Nikolas Nott, son of Hektor and Amaltheia Nott, am a Ravenclaw.

I still feel like I'm at the sorting, and this is some terrible nightmare.

I'm right next to Thea and watch the sortings without a problem. Nothing is amiss, and I'm almost in as much awe as the similar brunette right next to me. I watch Abbott and Bones head towards Hufflepuff with wide smiles on their faces as the house of yellow and black erupt into cheers. I watch Boot head towards Ravenclaw with a thoughtful look.

'_Good._' I tell Thea. '_After what you said about him duelling, he belongs there_.'

My sister pats my arm and doesn't think anything - it's always so weird that Dorothea can just turn off her mind, and I can't get anything from her - but the smile on her face shows she agrees with me. All the better; everything feels better when we agree with each other.

Millicent Bulstrode is the first Slytherin, and no one is surprised. Slytherin doesn't blow up with cheers. They clap, sure, but with a bland and collected kind of way; united. Millicent Bulstrode is the first Slytherin, but she's not the last. Crabbe gets sorted after Michael Corner goes to Gryffindor. Then it's Davis and Goyle. I take a minute to be _immensely_ relieved that Hermione Granger is in Gryffindor. I know with absolute fact that I would never be sorted there. Neither would Thea.

Daring; what a joke.

Then, it's Greengrass and Malfoy - the Hat barely touched Draco before it was shouting out Slytherin. Unlike the others, his sorting is the first where Slytherin flares with cheers. Their clapping isn't as uniform, and I think there are some that are cheering. Merlin knows why; imagine a world in which a Malfoy _wasn't_ in Slytherin. Hades would freeze over. Neville isn't in Ravenclaw or Slytherin, either. He's also a Gryffindor.

I try not to be too disgusted with all, it's not a surprise. Despite what many think, he does have that reckless little ambition that seems to be a big trait in all of them. Thea's only just telling me how proud she is that he didn't trip on his way up to the stool when the Hat screams out Gryffindor. It's not as immediate as Draco's, but I can tell by the stunned look on Neville's face that he thought he was going to Hufflepuff.

That's where I was betting my galleon.

Thea doesn't look particularly happy about it. There's a frown on her face that quickly morphs into a proud smile and a nod in Neville's direction before he disappears into the screeching crowd of lions.

When it's Thea's turn - because Dorothea comes much sooner than Theodore - she flounces up to the stool with every bit of confidence that Malfoy had in his swagger. When the Hat drops over her eyes, I'm ready for it. So is she.

"_Are you?_" The Hat muses, laughing at both of us. "_Tut, tut, Mr. Nott. This is not your sorting._"

I want to protest, but I nearly double over. I feel cold and cut off. I can't feel Thea anymore. I almost panic because of it. I almost rush forward to pull that mangy Hat off of her myself. I am about to take a step forward when Potter grabs onto my sleeve.

"What're you doing?" He whispers.

Weasley isn't paying attention.

"I don't know what she's thinking." I whisper back, panicked. "I can't...I don't know if she's okay. Look, her hand is shaking. That Hat is upsetting her. I have to protect her. I have to-"

His look of confusion - utter confusion. Stupid Potter, can't he see? It's always been Thea and I. With Mama, with Father; we were the constant. She's my little sister.

"SLYTHERIN."

I breathe out slowly when Thea takes the hat off primly. Her face is carefully neutral, but it's my face. I know what to look out for. Her teeth clench together and her left eyebrow twitches. She meets my eyes and tries to smile, but she doesn't relax until she's sitting next to Greengrass. I still feel woozy and like my insides have been numbed.

"Nott, Theodore." Professor McGonagall says.

Harry lets go of me, and I move forward focusing on the cheers that Thea got and trying to establish whatever connection we have with one another. I still don't feel her as the Hat slips over my eyes.

"_Not quite yet, Mr. Nott_." The Hat chimes. "_There is something peculiar about you two. You're destined for great things._"

'_You're not going to separate us, then._' I sigh in relief. '_Great. I'll go to Slytherin then._'

"_Not quite._" I hear the snort in his voice. "_I'm thinking Huf-_"

'_No._' I say this as firmly as I can. '_I am loyal to my name only. I won't be loyal to my classmates. I am ambitious, crafty, creative. I'm not above using anyone and everyone to achieve my means, Hat. I have a goal, and I aim to accomplish it. I'm not hardworking. It's about working smarter, not harder._'

"_Ah, Mr. Nott, but that is not all of you. You share many of these traits, but are you sure they make up who you are and not what you want yourself to be?_" He doesn't wait for me to say anything else. "RAVENCLAW."

I do sigh in relief that it's not Hufflepuff. I don't throw the Hat at Professor McGonagall, but I'm highly tempted to. That's when it hits me. Ravenclaw. Not Slytherin. Not with Thea. Not Slytherin. Not where Notts have been sorted for the past nine generations.

I'm not ashamed of the way they're congratulating me. They're all very matter-of-fact about it. It's stupid. I don't belong here. I can't even look at Thea. I'm not a Slytherin. I should be a Slytherin. Malfoy and Zabini aren't going to look after her - aren't going to be the person she complains to when Parkinson gets on her last nerve. I might still be that person, but I won't be living near her. We won't be in the same room - in the same area, I don't think. I'm not sure where the Ravenclaw dorms are, but I know they're not in the dungeons with her.

I force my arms on the table and lean forward like I'm completely bored with the sorting already. I can't help but keep looking at Thea and then back down. I'm don't move over when Padma Patil joins us, but I do manage a nod. I don't even realize that I'm the last person Harry Potter makes eye contact with before the Hat attempts to sort him.

"Alright, Nott?" Boot leans forward. "You're looking pale."

Great. Boot is a pureblood. I can manage speaking to him.

"Cold." I shrug. "Woozy."

This caught the attention of some of the older Ravenclaws.

"How about tired?" A fifth year leaned over to ask.

"Lightheaded?"

"Do you feel short of breath?"

"Are you thinking anemia?" The fifth year - perfect. He's a prefect. "That's what I was thinking."

"I don't have anemia." I clench my jaw. My hands close into fists. "I-"

"SLYTHERIN."

The entire hall is silent. Everyone stops asking me questions. Everyone stops talking. Everyone is still, even the Professors. The only person who is doing anything - anything at all - is Harry Potter. His hands shake when he slides the hat onto the stool. His jaw is set, and his head raised high like he's proud of this decision. He glances over at me, and he attempts some sort of a smile.

That's when the Slytherins break into applause. Ravenclaws follow, albeit awkwardly. The Hufflepuffs are next. The Gryffindors never clap.

Thea all but shoves Malfoy over to make room for him. He gets clapped on the back by Flint, Bletchley, Bole, Pucey, Harper, Malfoy. The girls regard him with somewhat clipped but cheerful smiles.

As cheerful as you can get in Slytherin.

I start feeling warmer because Potter leans forward to extend a hand to Thea. He says something - he has to have said something. His back is toward me, and he's too far away for me to read his lips anyway, but Thea's head snaps to me. Her eyebrows furrow.

'_Yo...kay?_'

I smile and nod my head. '_You?_' I ask this with every fiber of my being.

'_Will be._'

I hope to Merlin she's right.

* * *

AN: There you have it! How do you feel about the Sortings?

Iam ego te requiro - I miss you already  
Coninctis - United


	10. Ten

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter. All I own are bruises.

AN: Thank you, **GetWithIt**_, for being patient and looking over this. We are up to _**16**_ reviews (up 4 from last time!), _**52**_ follows (up 2 from last time!), _**35 **_favorites (up 4 from last time!), and_ **3,028** _views (up 761 from last time!) Wow. You guys are amazing!_

**_silly60:_**_ Thanks for being the first review! You'll see in this chapter how they handle it! I wanted them to be in the same house, too, but where would the fun in that be in the long run?_

**Bl00dfox:** Thank you! I like it as well, though you guys should see the amount of time it took me to make the list of the different sorting.

**Guest1: **Thanks! I think it's the aim of every author to improve. Theo's too smart to just be in Slytherin, haha.

**Guest2**: Slytherin!Harry is also painfully!innocent!Harry, I find. Hopefully Thea can teach him the beauty of being ambitious!

...

When Theo and I were younger, I can't remember a minute that went by where I wasn't able to pinpoint exactly what my twin was perceiving. Even when _that __vró̱ma _had torn into our family and left me unconscious, Theo and I had still been aware that the other was there. That was what he told me, anyway, when I had woken up. He'd felt lost and cold; the same feelings I'd experienced. I was the unconscious one, but Theo had suffered just as much.

Sensing where the other one was became as instinctive as schooling our features. We studied it like we studied Herbology or Transfiguration. Theodore became better at discerning our emotions, but I became better suited for pinpointing exact locations. There is a distance where our thoughts can't reach one another. We've tested it every year, normally on our birthdays. On the grounds on the Villa, we have to stand on opposite points. I normally take the west. We can stand about a mile away from each other and still get whispers.

Until the sorting, neither one of us had ever been completely cut off from the other. Needless to say, the experience isn't one we're eager to repeat.

I'm not the first girl awake. I pull the curtains aside and slide off the bed to find Daphne slipping her shoes on.

"Early to rise?" I raise an eyebrow at her and pull my own uniform out of my trunk.

"You're not the only one who had strict tutors." Daphne's sarcastic about turning her head up haughtily. I've known her longer than to believe she means to give the impression she's better.

"You think we should wake them up?" I gesture towards the other three and wince as Millie lets out another snore.

"No." The blonde sighs. "Get dressed. We'll wait in the common room."

I shrug my shoulders in agreement. Checking in on Theo doesn't really occur to me until I'm tucking my button down into my skirt. He must have just woken up - or something must be irritating him because I find myself feeling irked.

'_What's wrong?_' I slide my books into my knapsack. '_Can you hear me?_'

'_Vaguely._' Theo's miff lessons for a moment. It's almost as if I've relaxed him until it returns twofold. '_Mudbloods. Damn them._'

"Mudbloods." I say out loud, turning towards Daphne with a look. "There are mudbloods in Ravenclaw."

"How do you know?" Blaise descends down the stairs with Harry in tow. The Malfoy heir, plus idiot one and two, are nowhere to be seen.

"It's a feeling." I grin cheekily.

'_What'd they do?_'

'_I should have said, 'he.' I believe there is a girl, too, but I haven't the misfortune of meeting her. Woke both of us up before our alarm and let us know how excited he is. How he's 'heard a lot of stuff' about 'our kind'. As if we were on par with him! I would have complained earlier, but you weren't awake._' There's a pause, as if he's speaking to someone before his voice explodes again. '_He's not even the fun kind of clueless, like Potter. He's as insufferable as that bucktoothed vró̱ma in Gryffindor._'

'_Trade you a mudblood for Pansy._' I wince, pursuing my mouth and crossing my arms in front of me.

"Nott." Daphne jabs me again with a frown. "Are you going to continue to ignore us?"

I shake away from the conversation with my twin and refocus on the blonde who's glowering at me with as much dignity as she can muster so early in the morning. Embarrassingly, I hadn't even noticed the rest of the Slytherin first years had joined us.

"I-we're in lines." It's not a question, although it's meant to be one. Daphne rolls her eyes at me and gestures forward.

"We're heading up to breakfast. If you would kindly pay attention."

"Oh." I blink and follow her and everyone else out through the wall. The dungeon is just as cold and devoid of emotion, but not magic, this morning as it was last night.

"At least you don't look like you need to go to St. Mungo's." Pansy sneers. "Although, I certainly wouldn't say they don't need to take you away."

"Funny, Parkinson." I deadpan. '_We're headed up to the Great Hall now. Let me know when you're on your way down._'

'_Will do._'

"Seriously, Dorothea?" Draco sneers.

"What?" I stare at him, miffed.

"You're doing that thing again. With Theo."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I don't sing it, but Harry ducks his head. I assume his shaking shoulders mean laughter.

"You're okay, now?" He clears his throat and peeks underneath his fringe.

He's definitely like Neville. I shake my head as we walk into the Great Hall, headed towards the Slytherin table with a grace instilled into us since we were children. Well, most of us. Harry shuffles along, and Tracey is struggling in trying to mimic Pansy's confident stride.

"Yes. It's just…" I trail off, considering my words carefully. "Theo and I have been together since before we were born. We've spent time time apart before, but this is years."

"How sentimental." Theo says dryly, gesturing for Boot to go on ahead and pausing near the table.

"You feel the same." I push at him. "Don't tell me you don't."

He can't hide his smirk as he pushes back at me, eyes shifting towards the half-blood with calculating eyes. "Alright, Harry?"

I've seen that look before. I've been on the receiving end of that look. Something happened while we weren't able to reach one another. Harry'd told me that Theo had been worried about me, but he hadn't known why. I had assumed it was because the connection had been severed - that's why I had been freaking out.

I didn't think that there'd be another reason. But, looking at the two of them now…

'_Are you okay?_' I pressed, leaning back and narrowing my eyes.

Theo shrugs. '_Sure._'

'_Liar._' I accuse, ignoring the food that's appeared. Everyone else starts putting the different foods - eggs, sausage, bacon, fruit that should be out of season - on their plates. I'm too busy trying to read eyes.

'_I'm fine. Quit worrying. I just wanted to make sure that you lot were fine without me._'

"Would you both quit doing that?" Draco frowns at us both and gestured towards the Ravenclaw table. "Boot's looking at us like we're corrupting you."

"Where would he get that idea?" Theo tears his eyes away from mine. His "earnest" look turns cold with a frown. "There's less purebloods in my new _spíti_ than I would like. Corrupting me?" He laughs and taps me on the shoulder. "I'll let you know my schedule when I get it."

"Sure. Eat some fruit, too!" I say as he walks off, setting some eggs, fruit and toast on my own plate. My brother normally goes for the meat and bypasses the healthier stuff.

"You have entire conversations like that?" Harry asks in wonder.

"Twins." I bite into my toast and ignore the exasperated looks my childhood acquaintances give me. "We had friends, growing up, but it was always us two. He also has my face. I know what to look for."

"They do it _all_ the time." Blaise cuts in. "It's like they always know where the other is or is thinking. It's dreadful when they finish each other's sentences."

"Come off it." I retort quickly. "We don't do that often. Just to rile them up."

"Or when one of you get excited about one thing or the other." Draco muses. "Then, they get so caught up in explaining something to one another that they completely forget you're with them."

I can't even deny that it's happened before. Father had just given us each a book on curses. We'd been eager to read them and implement them in our dueling styles almost immediately. I didn't feel any particular way towards the Americans - they served their purpose, sure, way across the ocean and out of our affairs - but they were dead useful when it came to dueling practices and composing books on spells. I'd stayed up almost all of the night before absorbing any ounce of information that I could get. I had a feeling that Theo had done the same, but it wasn't until he had mentioned a piece in passing that I realized he had gotten just as far, if not further, than I had.

We'd completely forgotten that Neville and Draco had been there. The conversation carried on for a while. Our friends, probably used to our ways, had decided to play chess instead of trying to interrupt us in our happiness.

"Quit trying to turn Potter against me." I narrow my eyes at them. "Or, you'll get no birthday presents from the Nott family."

"You'd speak for your brother?" Daphne's look of amusement was adorable, really.

"When have you two ever seen Theo and I fight?"

* * *

To say that Theodore and never fight would be a gross exaggeration. We're _siblings_. Of course we fight. There were plenty of petty arguments that erupted between the two of us, and none of them tended to end very prettily. There were things about him I didn't like and vice versa. We just knew better than to get into such squabbles, if they weren't _healthy_ debates, in front of our peers. It would present us as a disunited front and make it easier to pick at each other's faults. Together, we were a better person. He covered the spots I needed improvement on, and I did the same for him.

Draco and I, however, were a completely different story. The same could be said for Blaise, on a lesser front. The blond constantly gave me a headache, and, more than once, I had wanted to resort to _muggle_ violence whenever we rowed. My brother likes to tease that we don't get along because we're so similar. He was the medium between us; the go-between to make sure our conversations didn't flare up into full-fledged duels.

Zabini was so rarely scheduled on 'playdates' with us. It was one thing for Draco to gravitate towards him now - Theo isn't in Slytherin, and Harry is new. Lady Malfoy always complained that she had statues with more intelligence than Crabbe and Goyle. Before Hogwarts, it was Draco, Theo, Neville and myself as a group. Alaya and Celena are my best _girl_ friends, sure, but they lived in Greece and started Plato's a full year before I started Hogwarts. I had spent most of my time with the boys. Neville, bless his heart, wasn't the best when it came to academics.

Again, Malfoy was different. The prat could keep up in a magical debate against Theo and I. From time to time, he would even win. (Although, we both lost more often than not against my twin. As much as I liked to read, the information never stayed with me quite as well as it did him.) We were resourceful and quick-witted, deceptive and sharp. It was likely that all three of us would have been sorted into Ravenclaw if Draco and I had valued knowledge more than what we could do _with_ it. We even shared similar hobbies and liked the same books, with, of course, the exception being Quidditch. The only thing that really kept me from getting along with Malfoy was how vocal he was in his arrogance. It was always something that struck me.

I _know_ I am better than all the _vró̱ma _in the world. I was raised to be poised and pure. I just don't go about alienating potential allies and friends because of it. In all honesty, the blond's lucky that Blaise and Theo agree with him more often than they disagree. Otherwise, Lady Malfoy would have had to find some foolish statues.

Neville, however, is very different. It's harder for him to keep up in our discussions, but he tries. He's clumsy and forgetful, sure, but he's loyal. I don't have to worry about the things I confide in him being held against me. I don't remember much about his future, but I know that it is difficult for him. I knew he would need friends who openly acknowledge him for the person he is now _before_ anything. When I had first met him, he had been adorably shy. I saw the opportunity, and I took it without a second thought. It also helped, although I hadn't been aware of the time, to have someone to talk to about missing Mamá. I hated to bring it up with Theo.

That's why I promptly sat next to him during History of Magic. Mrs. Longbottom had neglected to give Neville the _proper_ tutors that focused on history. I'm not sure how to feel about our very first class being with the Gryffindors, but I'm grateful to have a friend.

I might have sat with Daphne if she hadn't been roped into sitting with Pansy. Millie and Tracey seem to be very attached to one another, whispering to themselves. Crabbe and Goyle sat firmly and reliably behind Draco and Malfoy. It didn't occur to me until after I had taken out my notes that I forgot to look after Harry. There are an uneven amount of boys. I didn't like the sad-puppy look he is giving Weasley, either. The redhead had already paired off with that other brunette boy.

"Harry." I said, catching his sleeve before he could sit next to the mudblood. "If we bunch in, you can fit in with us."

I made Neville scoot over so he could. The bushy haired Gryffindor turned up her nose at us in a way that, if it had been _anyone_ else, I would have been reluctantly impressed. Unfortunately, it _is_ her. I would have said something, too, if Neville hadn't poked my side.

Binns is a terrible teacher. Not only did he get our names wrong from the roll, but he didn't even bother to apply the corrections that we tried to give. Still, I guess there must be some credit that he didn't seem to care about the Gryffindor sitting by herself. Neville fell asleep on his arms not even fifteen minutes into the lesson, and similar actions were being repeated across the room. It was morning, after all.

Harry, though, keeps trying to write notes. He looks down at his paper then back up at Professor Binns as if he's trying to take in all this information. Personally, I prefer to read over _A History of Magic_ and annotate it for myself.

"Thea?" Harry whispers, pushing his parchment towards me.

"Do people keep staring at me because I defeated Voldemort?" I wince at reading the last name and promptly use my own quill to scratch it out.

"Yes." I answer quickly and neatly.

"So, I'm famous?"

"Very." His handwriting is not neat; it' atrocious. It's obvious he doesn't have much practice writing with a quill. "No one really knows how for sure, but you managed to kill the biggest menace of the Wizarding World since Grindelwald."

"I don't remember it." He frowns and runs his hand through his hair messily. "I don't remember any of it, and people keep doing double takes once they see it's me."

"It bothers you, then?" I ask him quietly. "To get looked at constantly?"

"Yeah."

"I'll take care of it." I promise. "Is this the ink I bought you for your birthday?"

He nods. "How?"

"Don't worry about it." I dismiss him. "You're in our world now. I'll take care of it. Now, tell me what you know about the origins of magic. I may as well teach you the basics until I can get a hold of Binn's syllabus."

* * *

"You're going to tutor Potter?" Draco corners Harry and I immediately as we trek down the stairs. Herbology is next, so we say goodbye to Neville as he - dare I say it? - grudgingly returns to the Gryffindors. "I want in."

"There's no 'in' to be had." I counter. "You've had tutors. You don't need my help."

"I'll ask Theo, then." Draco shrugs.

"Tutors don't matter." Blaise continues, ignoring the blond. "You both will go into detail about it. Don't think we haven't noticed the way the two of you have been working on Longbottom."

"Neville isn't a project, Zabini, nor is Harry." I glower. "Don't suggest otherwise."

"Please." Draco rolls his eyes. "I've known the three of you for years now, and I know Longbottom wasn't always efficient."

"To be fair," Theo says dryly. "You are also different. Hello, Harry, Thea."

It's fun to acknowledge how shocked they are to see him. They didn't even hear him come up from behind us.

"Theo." I greet warmly, backstepping so that I fall in line right next to him. "Partners in class?"

"Sure." He agrees easily. "What with neither of us having the benefit of Neville being with us. Blasted Hufflepuffs - they don't need him."

"I agree." I nod my head and pull Harry with us by the sleeve of his robe. "Neville's much better at it. I heard Professor Sprout was Hufflepuff's Head. With the Puff's and Neville in one, it'll be easy to tell which class will be her favorite."

"Have you read much on Herbology, Harry?" Theo leans forward to look around me. "Dreadfully boring subject, if you ask me."

"Erm, no." Harry admits. "I read other books."

I tsk under my breath. "We're going to have to change that, definitely. You can't leave one subject unread. You'll get behind."

"I do think we've been replaced." Blaise says loudly.

"It's a strong possibility." Theo snorts. He's the first one to enter the greenhouse.

* * *

The classes aren't without merit. I find them fascinating. They're different from my tutoring sessions, and it is incredibly pleasing to get the house points. It's only a shame that Theo is in Ravenclaw. Otherwise, the two of us would have gotten fifteen points for Slytherin a piece. And, it's not that the classes are boring, it's only that there can only be so much review before you know what you're reading.

Prynne had taught me what we had been going over already, though I'm still going to take notes diligently. We're planning on having tutoring sessions - not for Malfoy and Zabini, but for the other Slytherins who look lost. We can't have them embarrassing the house with Troll or Poor grades. It would be disgraceful.

"What do you have next?" Harry asks Theo.

"Defense with the Gryffindors." We answer at the same time then look at one another.

"Oh." His mouth twitches up in an attempt to hold back a laugh. He doesn't succeed. "They weren't wrong."

"Wrong about what?" Theo frowns.

'_Malfoy told them that we finish each other's sentences._' I tell him lightly, staring at the book in front of me and back to the plant.

"Have we ever finished each other's sentences?" My twin questions aloud.

Malfoy proceeds to launch into a full story about how we have. I'm not sure that Theo's paying much attention to him, but Harry certainly is.

* * *

A/N: There you have it! The first day of classes. If anyone is interested in the Slytherin schedule, let me know! I'll post it on my profile.

vró̱ma - filth  
spíti - home  
ipso primo die ad scholam - the very first day of school


	11. Eleven

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter. All I own are bruises and medicine.

AN: Thank you, **GetWithIt**_, for being extremely patient with me. Holy cow. You are a blessing. We are up to _**27**_ reviews (up 11 from last time!), _**72** _follows (up 20 from last time!), _**51** _favorites (up 16 from last time!), and _**4,437**_ views (up 1,409 from last time!) Words can't express how much you guys mean to me!_

_I really can't get to reviews this time, mostly because they're all jumbled up, but know that they are very near and dear to my heart!_

* * *

Thursday, September 12th

I'm not a fan of broomsticks.

I loathe flying. I detest it so much that when I dream of it, I wake myself up in a panic. I don't care if I'm in a muggle contraption or on a charmed broomstick. It's not about safety. I've been flying with Prynne and with Father. I know they'd keep me from falling. I just like to keep my feet planted firmly on the ground. That, and I still remember the horror and terror that gripped my twin - and, by extension, me - when he fell from his Nimbus. Being up in the air wasn't something we were excited about. We couldn't even present a united front in our dislike of the sport because the Ravenclaws were having flying lessons with the Hufflepuffs. Instead, I have to stand across a very irate Weasley.

I'm also next to Malfoy. I don't know how this happened. I'm not sure how it got to the point that I was separated from the rest of the students that cared very little for this event. If I have to listen to Draco telling Harry about the joys of flying one more time, I'm going to hit him with the same spell he hit me with at the English Junior Championships.

"You have to watch how you kick off." Malfoy nods sagely.

Harry isn't the only one listening to him go on. Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle hang on to every word he says as if he were Merlin himself, when I couldn't even get them to study during the day. In Herbology, I had to drag Theo to the opposite side of where everyone else was sitting and bring Boot with him. I made one threat.

"You talk about flying or Quidditch, and I'm going to feed you to the Snargaluff."

He wisely stays quiet about it. We talk about other things. We take notes and pointedly ignore the other half of the room. Terrance is funny; almost as sarcastic as Theo is. I can see that he's a good match for him, so I feel a bit better about leaving him to the Ravenclaws. When I say goodbye to them and head off upstairs, Theo wraps his arm around my shoulders and draws me close to him.

"_Tha eínai entáxei_." He whispers in my ear with a reassuring squeeze.

Only, I'm not okay. I'm a nervous wreck all through Defense. It's only thanks to eleven years with Father that I don't show it. I'm actually considering heading to the Hospital Wing just to avoid it. I could manage it - could get Father to owl the Headmaster with a request to specifically excuse myself - and probably Theo, too - from the event.

"Ow." Harry grunts, rubbing at his head.

"Are you okay?" I try to keep my excitement out of my voice. If he's sick, I won't have to fake it at all.

"I'm fine." He whispers back hurriedly. "Just a headache. I'll be fine by the time flying lessons come around."

"Are you sure?" I frown, legitimately concerned this time. There's something I'm not remembering. Something that has to be important about everything, but I can't quite think of it.

By the time three-thirty rolls around, I've mostly forgotten all about Harry. I'm too busy standing stiffly next to Draco with a frown. The Gryffindors come right at the designated time with excited looks on their faces. This excitement is only dimmed once their eyes fall upon us.

"Good afternoon." Madam Hooch greets with a thin smile. "Well, what are you all waiting for?"

'_You'll be okay._' Theo repeats firmly. No doubt, he can feel how anxious I am.

'_I'll fall._' I bite back, shaking my head.

"Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

I glance down at the death stick next to me and firmly shake my head. Everyone else is holding their hands out, but I poke at it with my foot.

"Is there a problem, Thea?" Draco glances at me lazily. This makes everyone else near enough stare at me as well.

"Did you talk to Theo before this?" Neville asks from besides Ron.

"Are we here to socialize, or are we here to learn how to fly?" Madam Hooch strolls up the aisle. "Stick your hand over your broom and say 'up!' That includes you, Miss Nott."

"Up." I say flatly with none of the excitement that everyone else seems to possess.

Harry's broom, of course, zooms up into his hand. So does Weasley's and Draco's. Mine doesn't move even a little. That mudblood's rolls over. And, very much like my own, Neville's doesn't move.

Instead, we both bend down to pick up the useless, terrifying things and mount them.

"Not like that, Mr. Malfoy." Madam Hooch corrects him, picking up his hands and manually adjusting them.

"I've been flying like this for years." His face turns pink.

"Then, you have been flying wrongly for years." She moves towards me.

"I feel ill." I inform her matter-of-factly.

"I do, too!" Neville nods.

"It's perfectly alright to be nervous." She assures us both.

Neither of us are actually assured.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard." She instructs us. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle -"

Only, Neville doesn't quite listen to the instructions. He kicks off before Madam Hooch can give us any sort of instruction. He shoots off into the sky.

I only have a second to react. I drop my broom and reach out to grab onto him. His cloak slips through my hands.

"Neville!" I swallow the lump in my throat.

"Come back, boy!" Madam Hooch shouts.

"I don't know how!" Neville screams back.

I can see how pale his face is, even from way down here. He's an idiot. He's such an idiot that he lets go of the handle of the broom to call for help. He slides sideway off the the broom and falls to the ground with a frightful thud. I leave my position immediately, ignoring Madam Hooch's instructions to stay behind as she follows in my stead. I'm at my best friend's side in seconds.

'_Thea!_' Theo's voice is panicked. '_What's wrong? What happened?_'

He's not conscious. He's not moving, either. His wrist is swollen and turned in a crooked direction.

"None of you think of moving." Her face is pale and her mouth twisted into a thin line as she glares down at us all. "You so much as _touch_ your brooms, and I'll have you expelled faster than you can say 'Quidditch'."

I don't register that she's walked away with a levitated Neville. I'm still frozen in that spot. I don't move or come to until Harry wrap's an arm around my shoulder and leads me back to the rest of the students. This is why I wanted to keep my feet on the ground. This is why I had wanted to fake sick.

I loathed being up in the air for the uncertainty. Of course I did, but I didn't feel like this because Neville had gotten hurt - or not just because he had gotten hurt. It's a terrible guilt trip, but I don't see my friend falling. It's Theo (_it's me_) plummeting. It's not Hogwarts. It's the Villa (_it's the campus_). I couldn't even help Neville like I helped my twin (_too frozen in fear, too painful to move_).

"Nott," Daphne elbows me. "Are you going into shock?"

"Do we need to owl daddy dearest to withdraw you?" Pansy sneers happily.

"Her father wouldn't come." Blaise doesn't snort - it's not nearly dignified enough. But, if there was a more courtly manner to describe how he laughed...it wouldn't do it justice. "He'd send your brother."

She opens her mouth to argue with him, but is interrupted by one of the Gryffindor girls.

"Doesn't that belong to Neville?" I know it's Brown without even looking. Her voice has a way of grating on someone's ears.

It does, however, force me to snap back to what's going on around me. I blink slowly and deliberately, mostly to compose myself, and follow her hand. I sigh wearily once I've spotted my target; the little, red glass ball. Lady Longbottom has the most unusual sense of gifts - the Longbottom family as a whole, really. I'm not sure what leads me to it. I'm no longer in a state of shock (okay, I am still, but Theo's string of comforting words help). My hands just latch out and curl around Harry's sleeve.

"Can you get it?" I ask him quietly.

He looks startled that I would ask, and, if I didn't know any better, I'd say both Draco and Blaise look miffed I didn't ask them. Harry getting Neville's present is relatively simple. He lands with a bright grin on his face. It's not until he lands that the situation changes. Professor McGonagall storms onto the pitch with her robes waving behind her.

"Potter!" she scolds. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Erm," Harry shifts, looking increasingly awkward. He is nothing if not eloquent with his words.

"He was getting Neville's remembrall, Professor." Draco says immediately.

"I'm sure you remember what Lady Longbottom is like. He would get a scolding if he lost it." I chime in, smiling innocently.

She looks around at the rest of us before glancing over at the Gryffindor. Once Patil and Brown confirm our story, she snatches up the remembrall.

"I can give it to him, Professor." I step forward. "I study with Neville on Thursdays. I'll see him in the Hospital Wing."

"I can put it in our room." Some brunette says. I'm not sure who he is, but the Gryffindor looks determined. "I'll be heading there after class."

"I'm perfectly capable of getting it straight to him." I feel my shoulders tensing, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't raise my head up. There's an insult somewhere in his tone.

"That's perfectly alright, Miss Nott." Professor McGonagall loses some of the steam she had going for her. She peers over her glasses at all of us before handing the remembrall towards the brunette. I step back into place with the rest of my housemates with a bland smile fitting daintily on my face - as if I'm not beyond insulted and enraged that Professor McGonagall didn't trust me with Neville's ball.

* * *

Friday, September 20th

"Why does Professor Snape hate me?" Harry asks seriously, taking the free chair next to Draco.

I'm not sure who he's posing the question to - I don't feel any eyes on me. I don't look up from the Charms notes I'm working on. I'm content with letting the boys answer, for once.

"What makes you say that?" Our twit of a blond asks him from his own notes.

We currently have a deal going on. I will work on getting the important, vital information that we need for our essays and notes in Charms. Theodore - and, by extension, Terrance - will work together on skimming over what notes they've been taking in Binn's class and get them back to us as fast as possible. Neville, by choice and because of his odd fascination with the subject, volunteered to expand upon any questions we may have on Herbology. It was peculiar that he did so because, in doing so, he was also signing up to work closely with Draco.

Professor Snape, for some strange reason that makes absolutely no sense to me however I try to look at it, is Malfoy's godfather. As such, he is much better at Potions than the rest of us are, having been able to get private lessons with Snape growing up. Since Professor McGonagall was the hardest Professor to please thus far, Blaise proposed doing her notes and enlisted Harry's help without his say in the mater. Daphne, well, Daphne and I had our own agreement. She didn't particularly want to deal with all the boys, and I wanted Astronomy to be covered. We agreed that she could get those notes for us, and, in return, I would provide her with a copy of everyone else's study material.

"He attacks me all the time and looks at me like I'm doing something wrong."

"Did you ever think that you, I don't know, did something wrong?" Blaise asks sarcastically.

"No." The rest of us answer immediately.

"We watch him." Draco continues, although he doesn't seem pleased about it. "If Potter is doing anything wrong socially, we can't figure it out."

"Hey!" Harry says defensively. "I-"

"You can't honestly be saying he's done nothing." Theo laughs very matter of factly, taking the seat next to me and gesturing lazily for Terrance and Neville to sit down. "Look at him."

Three quills are placed down onto the table, and twelve eyes land on the bespectacled boy.

"You aren't wearing proper shoes." I say lightly, frowning. "What are those terrible things?"

"Trainers." Harry glares.

"Nor do his clothes actually seem to fit him." Blaise gestures.

"Not everyone has clothes that fit them!"

"You're not wrong." Theo taps his finger against the table. "But, we have clothes specifically made for us. Even Neville."

"Oi." Neville's affronted look doesn't stop our criticism.

"Why _do_ your clothes fit you so big?" Terrance begins before our eyes swing to him.

'_That is a very good question._' Theo muses. '_Have you asked him?_'

'_I have not._' I tell him. '_I have tact._'

'_Too true._' He smirks, but gestures towards his pureblood friends. '_They do not._'

"Harry." We both say at once, nodding at each other. "Don't listen."

"Although," I continue, glowering down at all of them. "We really do have to do something about what you're wearing. And, you're etiquette. It's appalling."

"We're not saying you are too far behind us." Theo jumps in without waiting another second. "You are going to be the Potter patriarch. You'll inherit the Potter seats in Wizengamot, but you'll be laughed out with your manners."

Harry's face is quickly getting red. Draco's is much the same, although probably for different reasons.

"Longbottom is much the same." Malfoy smirks. "Thea managed to make a respectable pureblood out of him."

"Why do you think like that?" A whiny, sharp voice asks with a heavy thump of dropping her thick stack of books onto the table.

"Shh!" Madam Pince appears, glowering at us all. "Shh! This is a library, not a creche."

"Pardon us, Madam Pince." Blaise says smoothly, standing up just to bow. "_Miss Granger_ was just so excited."

"She doesn't know quite how to curb her enthusiasm." Terrance, surprisingly, pipes up.

Her face is a frightening shade of red.

"Yes, well, mind yourselves. I will not have this library turned into a menagerie."

"Yes, Madam Pince." Almost everyone chimes in as charmingly as we can.

"I don't need you to defend me." Granger hisses at us all. If it were possible, I would say that her hair looked even more unmanageable.

"We didn't do it for you." Theo sneers. "We don't even like you."

"I like you?" Neville tries, feebly.

'_Theo, enough._' I agree with him, though, even if I want him to stop. He's going too far. He knows it, and I know it.

He's just not going to stop, and I'm not inclined to force the issue. Theo can make his own decisions. It's petty, but I don't like to be shown up. I know he's the same.

Especially when she's _vró̱ma._

"What do you want, Granger?" Terry eyes us all, but asks her in a much friendlier manner than the rest of us would.

Shockingly enough, she doesn't say anything. I'm not sure that she's capable of anything. Her cheeks are flushed, and she gathers all her things quickly. Neville waits until she's gone - until I'm going over my "lesson" plans with Theo before he interrupts.

"Did you have to do that?" He asks, stuffing his own parchments and texts into his bag. "She didn't do anything wrong."

"Except insert herself into our business." Draco says stiffly. He looks around the library to make sure what he's about to say isn't overheard. "Mudblood."

Several things happen. Neville leaves as quickly as he can, muttering angrily. I try to go after him, but am detained by Malfoy and Theo both. Harry looks confused and definitely lost, but like he is too wary to ask. Blaise is snickering so loudly that Madam Pince kicks us all out.

Neville doesn't talk to me nearly two weeks. And, when he does, it's not to apologize.

* * *

Wednesday, October 2nd

"See?" I wave off his concerns. "Professor Snape can't hate you too much if you're getting to be on the reserve team."

Harry doesn't look impressed. He looks exhausted, to be perfectly honest. It's probably because Flint is as obsessed with Quidditch now as he was when I first met him, if not more so. Harry Potter - and, to be fair, Draco, but it's more fun to only give Harry the credit. Not only does he despise it, no, but Draco also has the tendency to get upset when his achievements are overlooked. - is on the reserve Quidditch team for Slytherin.

Thea, bless her heart, looks duly over at a different table. Neville still hasn't said a word to her, not since their big argument. He's been strangely silent to everyone except Potter, actually. He's been spending all his time around the _vró̱ma_, not that any of us are happy about it. It's like an act of betrayal. He should know better. He's been around us for nearly half our lives. He knows how we are - what words we use, what phrases, who we do and do not get along with. I'm not sure what Gryffindor has been putting in his head, but he should know that Thea's happiness comes before any of my friendships.

So, it's petty. It's extremely petty, but I _may or may not_ have modified their homework for Charms before they turned it in. Thea may have been the more talented at it, but that didn't mean I was a slouch. I took an immense sense of satisfaction when Granger and Longbottom's essays were returned to them with an A on them as opposed to the normal O and E. As an added bonus, the look of shock on Weasley and Finnegan's face when they had the grades was enough to put a smirk on my face.

'_He'll come around._' I throw my arm around her and pull her into a hug. She doesn't cheer up, but she does smile at me.

'_I know. I just can't figure out why he got so mad._'

"He's taken a step back, at least." Draco points out, giving us both a look to stop talking exclusively to one another. "He no longer actively looks to dock points."

'_Bet it's the pressure from Gryffindor. You know he was getting hounded for being around a bunch of Slytherin._' I pause. '_And me, by default._'

"Well, he's more...up to par." Thea acknowledges. "Your grades are better too, Harry."

"I can't let them slip, or Flint'll have my head." Harry groans. "If it's not Flint, it'll be Professor Snape."

'_Which is so stupid. We haven't so much as said a word to any of them, except Granger!_' Her fist flexes angrily.

"At least, he's no longer griping about you having a big head." Blaise says cheerfully.

"I'm sure that's because Potter quit looking at him 'defiantly'." Draco muses complete with air quotes.

'_I have, but that's just me._' I shrug. '_Weasley is still fun to tease. I think it's hard for him to not argue with us and still remain on relatively good terms with Harry._'

'_How weird is that? That they're still friends._' She bumps her hip against mine. '_I would have bet galleons that Weasley would have done something stupid to jeapordize it._'

'_I think it has something to do with the train ride. Blaise and I weren't, well, our normal selves. Certainly not like we are now, and we kept Draco in line. Since Potter is...well, Potter. Weasley can't risk alienating him as a friend._'

"If it still bothers you, Harry, I could ask Father about it?" Thea offers, trying - and succeeding - to pull off the smug look Draco gets.

"If you don't mind waiting, we could wait until Samhain?" I offer mostly because I know what that's what Thea's expecting me to do, but also because I like to look at his reaction. I get a kick out of seeing Harry flail for an appropriate response.

"Sanhain?" There is is. There is the look of confusion that makes me laugh.

"Sa_m_hain, Potter." Draco corrects. "Tell me you know what that is."

"He does not." Blaise snickers.

Harry flounders for a word and looks at Thea helplessly. My sister is too busy glowering - or pouting. It depends on how you look at it - in Granger's direction to pay attention. I take pity.

"Most people call it Halloween." I straighten up. "It's to celebrate the lives of those we've lost and to reconnect with them. Magic is at an all time high, and the veil between our world and the world beyond is very thin."

We let him ask a couple of questions more. We keep an eye on Neville and Granger. I wait about a minute for them to leave before I nod my head at the lot I'm with.

"Right, well, I'm going to grab Terry before Astronomy tonight." I give them a wave and let them get back to their discussion. I also manage to plant a very embarrassing kiss on Thea's head - if the way her cheeks redden before she schools her facial expression is any indication - before trailing out of the library. Once I know I am out of their sight, I sprint in the direction of Neville and his pet.

"Longbottom." I say in a holier-than-thou attitude. "A word?"

Honestly, Thea's put in a lot of work with him. Otherwise, I doubt he would have been able to steel himself and pull himself up as proudly as he just did. Color me impressed.

"I have nothing to say to you, Nott." Only, I can tell by the look on his face that he most definitely does.

"Nonsense. We've been friends for years." I remind him amicably, completely ignoring the bushy haired girl next to him. "Surely you can spare a second."

"Really can't. Sorry."

I have my wand out before he can finish his sentence with what I hope is a frightening glare. I'm trying to imitate Father, after all.

"You remember how good I am with a wand." I grin. "Now, you're going to apologize to my sister. You're going to make it up to her, or you're going to have me to deal with. You know I'm a lot less forgiving."

His hand twitches for his wand. It's striking, really, what the lion's den can do.

"Is she going to apologize to Hermione? _Are you?_"

"Who the hell is Hermione?" I deflect naturally, knowing full well who he's speaking about. "Of course not. Eínai akáthartos. You know how we are."

"Then, I have nothing to say." Ah. There's the Neville I know. He's starting to sweat, and he's definitely not confident in his words.

"You're going to apologize." I say again. "You've upset her."

"How would you know?" Granger retorts. "She never gives any indication she's upset."

I don't bother answering her because Neville should have some sort of idea. Perhaps he doesn't know exactly, but that's not the point.

"She should apologize first."

I'm losing my cool and quickly. This tends to happen the most when Thea is involved. "For what?" My hand tightens on the wand. "She didn't say anything to Granger."

"She didn't stop you!" Neville blows. "She never stops any of you, but she knows better."

"No, _you_ know better. Don't blame our actions on her. She's not our nanny." Only, I can't take it anymore. I say the first spell that comes to me. "_Prosvolí̱_."

I haven't used that particular spell in a while, so I am eager to see the effects. Neither of them know a decent shielding charm - Quirrell is useless, after all. Granger somehow managed to get her wand up in time without me having seen her do it. She tries a spell - I'm thinking it's the full body bind, but I can't be absolutely certain. I take immense pleasure from both of them flailing on the ground, and I end the spell before they can choke.

"I'll remember, Longbottom." I glare.

I turn to stalk off, and that's when I see and hear her.

"Meow," purrs Mrs. Norris.

* * *

A/N: And, there's that. You should know that the last line is my _favorite_ line of all time. Translations below!

Detestor, Aspernari, Aversatur - I detest, you despise, he loathes  
Tha eínai entáxei - You'll be okay.  
Eínai akáthartos. - She's unclean.


	12. Twelve

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter. All I own are a bunch of study guides I had to print out.

AN: _Bless _**GetWithIt**_ for taking the time to look over this chapter. You are THE BEST. We are up to _**33**_ reviews (up 6 from last time!), _**80** _follows (up 8 from last time!), _**57** _favorites (up 6 from last time!), and_ **4,965**_ views (up 528 from last time!) Wow. This means so much to me, you guys._

**Ninazu:** _Now, I understand that you're a bit frustrated. However, I'm going to take the time to point out a couple of things out for you. First and foremost, she remembers bits and pieces about her past. Hint: Something traumatic happened to her to make her forget a lot of it. If you read the chapters over, it may not be completely obvious, but it should jump out. Thea is not the common pureblood. She _is_ very much different; it's just the how that hasn't showed up yet. Secondly, the summary fits the story exactly. None of this is what she expected. Thirdly, just because I say something while writing does not mean it reflects my personal beliefs. Abby, as well, was not a science-major. She focused on business; the only knowledge you have about her college workload is that she had a philosophy and business class. She very well could have failed any biology class; or she could have passed with honors. None of you know for sure._

**Sunny1233: **_Aww. Thank you! Hopefully, this makes your day as well!_

**Gwenlynn:** _Ah. Again, some of the reasoning for Abby/Thea's "messed up" reincarnation has been explained, at worst, and hinted at _at_ best. Unfortunately, you guys are only going to be getting bits and pieces of it for a while._

**Hentai18ancilla:**_ I always felt that Neville didn't have enough levels to him until his 5th year and even that was questionable. This Neville may not have his parents, but he did have friends growing up. It changed him. So, he's going to fight to defend his new friends/new family. Still, hope this chapter helps redeem him! As for Hermione, I felt like she mellowed out in her later years. I detested how she knitpicked everything in the first books. _

**Guest:**_ (It totally helps if you come up with a "screen" name, even if you want to remain anonomyous! That way you know that I'm addressing you for future references.) As I said before, Thea is currently thinking at a 11 year old pace. Crushes are understandable, but I don't think she'll be dating for a while yet. Again, Neville is her friend. As for the Weasleys, she's not going to go there. She grew up accustomed to a certain lifestyle, haha. She's not going to give that up. _

**Katio:** _Hope this came out fast enough for you, then!_

Additional AN: _Alright. As this story is getting a little more popular (yay!), then I'll make a deal for you guys. The first 10 reviews will get a response in the next chapter. Make sure, when you review, that you review on the latest chapter. I know some of you end up doing it from the first, but it helps keep them in track to respond. Enjoy!_

* * *

Thursday, October 3rd

"You're _joking_." Draco stresses, looking increasingly amused.

"I'm not." Theo swears, although he looks torn between laughing and freaking out. It's an odd expression, and definitely not one that's commonly seen on my brother.

"You can't be serious." Terry has the same expression Malfoy does.

It's even weirder.

"I am." His eyebrow twitches in annoyance. "Look, I cursed Longbottom and Granger. I turned around to go up the staircase, and there was Mrs. Norris. I ran for it. I wasn't about to get detention. I ended up in the third floor corridor, which meant I really _would_ get in trouble if I didn't have a good hiding spot. So, I unlocked the door when I heard Filch coming. I turned around, and there it was."

"A cerberus." I clarify. "A three headed dog?"

I don't flinch at the waves of irritation Theodore's starting to give off, but I do cross my arms at him and give him a look. To my credit, he shrugs and calms down.

"You saw a three headed dog?" Harry gapes.

"Yes. Listen, I saw a cerberus; a three headed dog with three pairs of eyes, three incredibly horrid smelling, drooling mouths, three pairs of yellow fangs. You're missing the point."

"What's the point?"

"It was standing on a trap door." He leans forward, all anxiety escaping him in that moment. "It was guarding something."

"Mr. Nott." Professor Sprout taps his shoulder. "If you do not pay attention to the lesson on hand, I _will_ have _no choice_ to separate you from your friends and assign you a detention."

"Very sorry, Professor." Theo smiles as charmingly as he can, but the look doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"You know, one day that isn't going to work." Terry said, rolling his eyes. "You aren't going to be able to charm the Professors out of thinking you're terrible students."

We ignore him. Or, rather, Daphne and I ignore him and go back to working on the worksheet that is due at the end of class.

At the end of the day, the two of us lounge in the girl's dormitory. I desperately need a break from the boys, and I've received a letter from Alaya. I'm sitting cross legged on the floor overlooking the History of Magic syllabus and the text in an attempt to figure out which lesson Harry would benefit from while simultaneously using the opportunity to read ahead. Daphne is braiding my hair back. I only recently managed to get her to agree not to try different charms. For that, she'd have to talk to Pansy or Tracey. Maybe even Millie if the girl was feeling up to it.

Besides, I only have about half an hour before I need to head to the Quidditch pitch with Draco and Harry. I normally wouldn't bother, but Miles specifically asked me to come.

"What'd he say again, Thea?" Tracey giggles, flipping a page.

"_'I need you to keep them in line, Princess.'_" I quote, looking up briefly. "I suggested they invite Pansy so that she could keep them on their brooms."

Daphne gives a most unladylike snort and drops my hair to stifle her laughter. I don't see why she bothers as neither Parkinson nor Millicent are in the room.

"Did you hear Lady Parkinson's trying to push for a match between Pansy and Draco?" The blonde asks, primly flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Does Draco know?" Tracey's eyes are wide, and no longer paying attention to TWitch.

"We're all reaching that age, you know," Daphne continues after nodding at the bespectacled girl. "Engagements."

"No." I disagree immediately. "We're not. Lady Parkinson likely panicked that Prynne isn't agreeing to marry anyone. He can't, anyway, not without Father's permission. It's in the contract. Anyway, we have bigger things to worry about."

"Like what?"

"Like, why Emeric the Evil was so evil."

Neither of them have an answer.

That evening, Draco nearly gets thrown from his broom when a Bludger smacks into him from behind.

* * *

Tuesday, October 15th

"There was a vault at Gringotts that was broken into on your birthday, and you didn't think it was relevant to tell us?" I stare blankly at Harry, ignoring Thea's tutting about our lack of focus.

"Erm, yes?"

"And that giant man didn't tell you what it was, but he picked up a small package from Gringotts?" Draco tries to clarify.

"Yes." This time is much more assured.

"That has to be what cerberus is guarding." I say eagerly, shooting a grin at my twin.

Her nose wrinkles briefly, and she rolls her eyes.

"You can figure it out later, Theo. Come on, we have double Transfiguration."

* * *

Thursday, October 31st

"Harry." I say quietly at breakfast, tugging on his sleeve. "Come with me?"

It's not a request, though it is posed as one. For a moment, I worry that he's not going to see it for what it is and is going to decline. He looks at me oddly. However, he's known me for two months now. He knows better than to question.

We have our free period today. If Neville and I were talking more than strained greetings, he might have complained that his wasn't until tomorrow. As it is, I'm still bemoaning his choice of befriending a know-it-all mudblood rather than staying a loyal friend to me.

Hufflepuff, I would have bet. Perhaps this was my problem? I needed to get better at reading people, especially if they were going to be particularly difficult. I know Father didn't appreciate his current lawyers and the mess they made of his company.

See, Professor Snape made a point to speak with the first years to give us a general picture of what we should gain during our time at Hogwarts, as well as to make sure we voiced any concerns we had so far. None of us had any, really, that could be shared with a Professor. And, if any of the other first years had any problems, they never mentioned them to me. We were to have realistic goals of what we wanted and expected in life. Theo was to go into Father's business and, eventually, take over. He, too, would train to become an Auror only to be whisked away by Father's PAC, like Prynne.

Like many others.

Fortunately, I was the second child. I was the spare and the girl. If Mama were still alive, it's likely that all I would be good for was marrying into a prestigious line - like, Morgana forbid, the Malfoy one - that was as ancient as the Nott one and produce an heir. If Father were anyone else, I could have expected that as well. Luckily, Father demanded more. I liked law - business, too. Professor Snape spoke to me for an hour and a half about possible career paths. I could open up my own practice if I wanted to, or I could work in the Ministry if I didn't want to work with Father.

As if I had the option of not working with Father.

The point is, I'd been prepared to speak to Professor Snape and had more than just a basic idea. Harry was most assuredly not. He didn't even have a clue as to what his parents had done. Fortunately, I had something that would help. Father had been planning on giving it to me during Samhain, but had had to send it through the post when all of our requests to leave the castle temporarily had not been granted.

I was originally going to use the opportunity to see Alaya and Celena, as well as Pappous and Father. I was not amused by the Halloween decorations in the least.

"What'd you want to talk about?"

I shake my head and gesture for him to follow me outside until we're not far from the Herbology Greenhouse. I don't _shove_ him onto the floor, but you would have thought that I had by the way he plops down onto the ground. Personally, I sit down more primly than he does. From there, I proceed to let him sit on his nerves until I can pull out an old, worn book from my satchel. Great Grandfather Cantankerus Nott had drawn it up for his progeny. It was a self-updating list of ancient pureblood families. It would have been in the _Pureblood Directory_ he had written, but he hadn't wanted others to get their hands on it. This was an exception for the family. He wanted to make sure that we would always be pure. I like to think that he was paranoid.

"What do you know about your parents, Harry?" I ask, not expecting a reply. It's apparently a good assumption to have because he gapes at me. I nod my head and flip through the pages, carefully avoiding my own. "Your father's name was James Charlus Potter."

I balance the book in my hand and scoot over so that we are very close to one another and slide the Directory between us so we can both look at it comfortably. I tap the name with my finger and watch as its knowledge sprawls out of the name. The information in the book is written on the left side, and this particular one is set to only react to those of Nott lineage. Father never said for sure, but I imagine that, when I get married, I'll no longer have access to it. The right side pulls up the information once the name is touched. It even includes a small portrait.

"He was born on March 21st, 1960. He lived in the Potter Demesne with his parents until his marriage in which he relocated to a smaller Potter owned house of Godric's Hollow. That is where he passed away on October 31st, 1981." I move my hand and let him continue to look over it. The book need only recognize that I'm here to leave him alone. Harry ducks his head to avoid making eye contact with me, so enraptured with the information given to him.

"His mother was Dorea Potter, nee Black. She died in 1977, two years before her husband. She was married to Charlus Potter. Any relatives you may have through your father will be because of her, I suppose. Your grandfather had a younger brother named Eduard, but he left for America years ago. It's listed that he passed away in Vermont. It must not have been a half-blood or a pureblood, or I would have been able to see who his wife and child were." I shake my head and turn to look at him to see his response.

Harry's hand is still tracing over his father's name. "I'm named for my dad." He whispers quietly. "James is my second name."

I don't tell him that I already know this - that any magical child who has bothered to pick up a book about magic would be able to list of such a basic fact of our 'savior'. Instead, I let him marvel and look.

"Is there anything about my mum?"

"Just her name. Her picture wouldn't even show up." I gesture towards the _Lily Potter, nee Evans._ "I know she was a mud-_ah_-muggleborn. She wasn't a pureblood. My great grandfather's charm doesn't apply to her. It won't for you, either. As far as it's concerned, your family line is in jeopardy-" unless you marry a pureblood is what I want to say, but don't.

"I never knew their birthdays." He smiles sadly. "Or the names of my father's parents."

I'm not sure what to say, so I don't say anything at all. Instead, I push the book completely towards him and pull out our Transfiguration text to begin creating a review. We stayed as such for half an hour, maybe, before I elbow him. "Alright, come on then. We should head to class. Theodore's already made it to where Professor Sprout doesn't let us work near each other. Did you have any questions for me?"

"No." He waits until I've slid both books back into my bag before helping me up. "Elizabeth Potter was a Nott."

"She was." I agree. "Most purebloods share ancestors, Harry. Although, recently, my family has been marrying outside of England. I assume some of the others will do the same - Malfoy certainly should. Zabini, however, should be safe."

"Marriage?" The green eyed boy stares at me disbelievingly. "You're already thinking of marriage?"

"Of course not." I disagree immediately. "I wouldn't have a say in it even if I were. I'm very much focused on my studies, believe me. Father encourages what I want to be. I think it's because he wants me to be able to help out his agents when they do idiotic things."

Not Prynne, of course, but some of the other mercenaries he's trained up.

"You don't talk about your family often." Harry muses quietly. "You make references to your father, and you speak of Theo all the time, but the others…"

I get why he's trailed off. It's because I've stiffened and quit walking. The others know what happened to my mother. They know better than to ask me anything because of how despondent I get. It's not been four years yet, and I loathe to talk about it. If Harry had been anyone else, I might have snapped at him to shut up. Instead, I blink at him slowly and shake my head.

"I don't talk about her." I say quickly and take off without waiting for him. "Especially not today."

* * *

'_What's wrong?_' I ask her firmly when I don't see her join the rest of us in class. Professor Sprout asked after her - Thea's never missed a class. Daphne comes up with some excuse about how she wasn't feeling well.

We all know this to be a lie, me especially. Thea wouldn't miss class if she were sick. She never has. My twin greatly underestimates how much I know something is bothering her. I can practically see her shrug her shoulders instead of answering me, and I know she's trying to place a barrier between our thoughts so I can't look into it anymore. I push back with a frown.

"Alright, Nott?" Terrance raises an eyebrow.

He's become more and more accustomed to my doing so. The others grew up with our doing it - our shutting down in the middle of outward conversations to have a private one between the two of us. Still, it's become rare while in Hogwarts. I can't fault him for asking.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a headache." It's not true. It's not a headache, but it'll develop into one if she tries to keep everything to herself.

_'Are you going to talk to m-'_

_'No, I'm not.'_ Thea answers at once.

_'You are.'_ I tell her this time, ignoring everyone around me and focusing on my notes in front of me. _'You're giving me a headache.'_

_'Go see the nurse.'_ Clenched teeth. She's clenching her teeth in concentration. It's not a good sign.

_'If you come with me, I'll go.'_

_'I don't want to. Take Boot or Malfoy. I don't care.'_

_'Yes, you do.'_ I think tightly.

_'Don't worry about it.'_ She says equally as annoyed.

_'We both know that's exactly what I'm going to do until you quit being a prat and tell me what's going on.'_

_'Nothing is going on.'_ I can feel Dorothea's glare on me. _'I'm fine.'_

_'You're not.'_ I say back quickly. _'You're not feeling like yourself. Don't tell me you are. I can tell the difference. Something happened this morning.'_

"Mr. Nott!" Professor Sprout glares with her hands on her hips. "Is there a problem?"

"Actually, Professor, I'm not feeling very well." I say lamely, rubbing my head. "May I be excused?"

She blinks. I've caught her off guard. Good. That will show her for being such a busybody.

"I'm sure your sister will be fine. I'm touched for your concern about her, but I'm certain she wouldn't be pleased if you miss class."

"This has happened since we were children." I smile wryly. "We both fall ill around the same time."

"Very well." She doesn't look particularly happy about it. "You're excused."

I wait for her to turn around before I look at the rest of the Slytherin house with accusatory looks. With the exception of one particular individual, the rest of them look impartial. I let my eyes narrow on Potter then before shaking my head and gathering my supplies.

"I suppose I can trust you to take notes for me?" I raise an eyebrow at Terrance. "And not jeopardize them."

"Sure." I know I'll have to confirm them with one of the Slytherins later, anyway.

I don't find her before lunch, and I slide into the Great Hall feeling miserable. It's not coming from me, however. I can tell people are staring as I head towards the Gryffindor table. I can hear a couple of hisses, too, at the action, and the students in crimson and gold don't look particularly happy to see me, either.

"Longbottom." I say blankly and not at all happily. I still haven't forgiven _him_ for being a prat. Still, he's the only other person who knows my twin as well as I do. "How attached are you to your classes today?"

This draws the attention of everyone in the immediate vicinity.

"You _can't_ skip class, Neville!" The mudblood bint bites furiously, glaring at us both.

"I-" Neville starts, clearly startled into giving his response.

"You'll be going off with _them_ then?" Ron voices almost as angrily, directing his own scowl towards the Slytherin.

"I-" Neville tries again.

"I'll tell a Professor if you do." Granger cuts in. "Think of how they've treated you!"

"No, you won't." I say finally. "You'll keep your _ai̱diastik_ mouth shut. This matter doesn't involve you, nor you, Weasley."

I decide to add on that final bit once I noticed the redhead was getting ready to open his mouth again. He wasn't terrible, not at all how Thea figured he would be once he was sorted into Gryffindor. But, drown me in the River Styx if I'm lying, he was a bloody hassle.

"I have Charms today." Neville responds finally, looking away from me. "Why?"

I take a minute for all of this to sink in. "I have Potions. I'm still going to skyve. Someone said something to Thea about Mamá."

"You still call your mum, mama?" Someone snickered.

"It's Grecian, you uncultured _choíro̱n_." But, I don't look away from Neville. Instead, I wait for him to debate with himself over what he's going to do.

Eventually, he caves in. "Dean, will you tell them I felt sick?"

"Sure, Neville."

He leaves after giving both Weasley and Granger a warning look. I've never seen it on him before. I realize that he really_ has_ grown up. He's a lot different than the chubby six year old we first met. He's still a dolt from time to time; he still forgets the little things. But, he would have been worse off had my twin not befriended him. That's why I'm only slightly annoyed that it took so long to convince him to come with me.

He should have agreed immediately when I approached him, should have apologized to Thea weeks ago and fixed their friendship. I may not be able to speak to him directly - I may not be able to read his mind - but I can read his facial expressions. I know the _direction_ of where he's going with his thoughts. I can be wrong. I have been wrong before. I get that he wants to make new friends. He doesn't sit with me in the classes we share and Thea confirmed that he no longer sits with her in Potions or History of Magic. He's taken to sit with the mudblood.

The mudblood, of all people. A blood traitor would be less of a problem.

We don't find Thea right away. We split up the library between the two of us, careful to avoid Madam Pince. When that didn't work, we look in the empty classrooms. Neville had to duck into the Hospital Wing in case anyone came about searching for him. I thought about making an appearance as well, but thought better of it. We finally ran into the other Slytherin on their way to dinner.

"She got into a row with Granger." Daphne says carefully, staring knowingly at Neville. "She said something that made her cry."

"Thea, crying?" This I honestly don't believe. I've only seen Thea cry two or three times, and certainly not since we turned ten. If she felt so vulnerable, I know she would have turned to me.

"No, Granger." Daphne rolls her eyes and joins the rest of them. "Let her know I took notes, alright?"

"I'll join you, if that's okay." Harry shifts next to me and gestures for Draco and Blaise to go on. The two of them look like they want to say something snarky. Luckily for me, I share the same cross look that Thea gets whenever they do something stupid.

_'Why don't you just go to dinner. I'm fine.'_ Thea huffs, finally.

_'No, you're not.'_ I argue back fiercely. _'Where are you?'_

_'Trying to convince a ghost that her hanging around here is getting old.'_ She's sarcastic, but with that tone in her voice that suggests she's not amused. _'I'm in the second floor loo trying to convince Granger to get over herself and leave me alone.'_

_'Why won't she leave you alone?'_ I ask her, though I'm already turning on my heel and heading back up the staircase. I ignore the Slytherin and Gryffindor beside me, respectfully, in favor for the one in my head.

_'Because you made Neville skip class.'_ She's exasperated.

_'I didn't make him.'_

_'You're missing the feast.'_

_'So?'_

_'Theo.'_ She says it all with the one word.

"She doesn't want us to find her." I say, turning towards the Gryffindor and Slytherin with me. "She'll want us to go to the feast, even if she loathes it."

Neville's face shifts into one of frustration and annoyance, but he doesn't say anything else. He just turns and heads for the Great Hall. Harry and I both wait a beat before following after him.

"I think it was my fault." He shifts nervously. "I brought up your mum."

I stiffen at this response and shake my head. "We don't talk about her."

"Sorry." But, he wants to ask why.

"What are you doing in the halls?" Professor McGonagall all but materializes in front of us.

"Heading to dinner?" Harry answers, albeitly extremely nervously.

"Did you not hear the order to go to your do-"

_'Theo!'_ Her voice is panicked. A second later, a flood of emotions courses through me. _'Troll!'_

"Troll!" I find myself blurting out, eyes wide. "Professor McGonagall, my sister!"

* * *

A/N: And, there's that! Hope you liked it!

Omnes Sanctio Hevam - All Hallows Eve  
ai̱diastik - disgusting


	13. Thirteen

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter. All I own are some souvenirs and a "Coke Light" which is an experience, let me tell you.

AN: _This is normally the part where I bless _**GetWithIt**_ for being such a blessing. However, this is _**UNEDITED. **_Please know that this means it is scheduled for some changes._

Guest: As for future pairings, I've given it some thought and not very deeply because, yes, she's young. However, I had this chapter all written before you even said anything. Nothing was intentional, but I particularly hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Thursday, October 31st

It is incredibly hard to tell one's brother exactly what is going on when there is a giant mountain troll Hades bent on sending one into the afterlife. I tried my best, which probably resulted in a Grecian shriek if the small ping of pain in my own head was any indication that the message was well received.

"GRANGER!" The shriek was in English this time, probably as a result of my dropping down to avoid that club that swings in my direction. I jump up and make a run for it when it crashes into a suit of armor. "MOVE!"

It's hard enough to breathe. In my life, I've never had to experience anything so terrible. Even with _that_ night, Father and Mama had been there to protect me when _that man_ had gone mad with jealousy when Mama had spurned him. Part of me was torn between cursing the stupid thing, getting out of the way, and leaving Granger behind; if I could just make it to the ends of the hall, I could disappear up or down a staircase. They were too small for the mountain troll to follow me without getting stuck and drawing a larger attention to itself.

I've been spoiled, I realize. Vaniel and Sidhein did a marvelous job of keeping me away from anything that smelled so putrid. Father and Mama did me - and Theodore, by default - a tremendous favor in only allowing us to befriend the crème de la crème. We never had to worry about whether or not something was going to kill us. The Professors were supposed to be doing their jobs. They were to supposed to be educating us while keeping us safe.

'_Why in Merlin's name was there a giant mountain troll in the building?_'

"_Pónos!_" I suck in a breath and tap everywhere on the stupid troll that I can reach, all whilst trying not to throw up. I immediately have to throw myself down and roll, rather ungracefully, out of the way as the club comes down. If I hadn't inexplicably been paying attention to it, it would have gotten me. The spell doesn't even work. The troll doesn't groan in pain or fall or even look remotely uncomfortable. It just growls angrily.

"_F-Fumos!_" Granger tries, and is only successful in gaining a small wisp of smoke to come from the corner of her wand.

"Pronunciation!" I call, sprinting towards the wall and using it to push myself in a different direction in order to confuse the beast. "It has to be stronger. _Rixei!_"

I'm so proud when the carmine colored spell hits. I know it does because I see it connect with the stupid thing's bulging stomach, but it only makes it take a couple of steps back. It doesn't throw it to the ground, like it did to me. It doesn't daze ti whatsoever, which is what it does when Theo or I successfully manage to hit Prynne. Instead, it makes the creature come after us with a vengeance.

This wouldn't normally be too bad of a problem except that Granger seems to be frozen in fear. She stands there with her eyes wide, wand in her hand. Said want is pointed at the mountain troll going straight for her, but she neglects to actually do anything. The troll lifts the giant club and brings it down.

I might have a death wish.

"Granger!" I only have _just_ enough time to crash into her, knocking her to the side. My head connects with her elbow. The fabricated headache I had beforehand erupts magnificently. I don't have time to groan and hold my aching skull. I'm too busy pulling us up against the wall and trying to slide behind some armor.

"I can't try to save our lives and protect you." I hiss, pinching her and trying to get her out of whatever daze she's gotten herself into. "Run around if you're too useless to cast a spell!"

"_Diakopí̱_!" I hiss, this time aiming for the troll's knees. It stomps it's feet in aggravation once this particular spell connects, but it shifts it's attention away from Granger. I immediately backtrack and run the opposite way. It would be foolish to run in a straight line. It's idiotic to do so when faced with an intelligent opponent - this way, it had no idea what I was doing. I'm not about to make it easy for him to get to me. At least the Gryffindor finally does something; she either makes a noise or casts some not-particularly-helpful spell.

The attention is shifted away from me. It's enough of a break that I can calm my breathing so it's not as frantic and painful. Unfortunately for me, I make the mistake of stopping before it's engrossed somewhere else. My back isn't completely turned to it, so everything happens in a sort of slow motion. I see it out of the corner of my eyes. I turn to move, and feel the sharp spike of pain in my ankle. I quit noting any of it the moment the club connects with me. I don't know exactly what brings me to cling onto the wood, but I dig my nails into the wood and hold on for everything I'm worth.

I also feel something wet drip down the side of my face, and it's almost like -

[["_Abby? Are you okay?" A ginger haired girl asks, eyes wide. "Dude! Your head is bleeding! Someone call Coach W-!"_

"_I'm fine!" I laugh, dizzily trying to stand up. "The ball didn't even hit me that hard."_]]

"Granger!" I screech, sliding down. The troll has taken to trying to forcefully knock me off. "Help!"

I slide off am about to hit the ground when I hear her, "_Wingardium Leviosa!_" I find myself levitating in the air, but not being quite able to move. It gives the troll the perfect time to reach out and get me.

"_Incarcerous!_" Several voices shout at once.

Granger sets me gently on the ground, and that's when I get to see them all. Professors Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout are all pointing at the troll. It's belated, but Professor Quirrell cowers behind them and sends another wave of robes towards the giant creature. There are a couple of other Professors there, too, only I haven't had the pleasure of being acquainted with them yet. Professor McGonagall makes a beeline towards Granger, and I have to wait for Professor Snape to get everything sorted before he makes his way to me.

I'm already nauseated and with a headache that seems more like a migraine now. I'd feel like crying if I didn't absolutely know that it was beneath me to do so in public.

"What did you think you would accomplish?" He sneers, but he's running his wand over me with diagnostic spells. I hear Professor McGonagall ask Granger the same questions.

"W-we-" She starts, and she's shaking.

"I've felt ill all day, Professors." I acknowledge Professor McGonagall as well, drawing her attention. "I was heading down to dinner from the library. I felt so awful not attending classes that I wanted to get caught up. Granger must have been just behind me - only, I rounded the corner and the troll was there thrashing about. I fired a spell to distract it and warn Granger at the same time, but it charged at us."

"_Thea!_" Theo's voice is panicked. I only have just enough time to turn around when my brother collides into me side. If it weren't for him drawing me into a hug, I might have collapsed backwards from the impact. "Tha eínai kakó!"

"Yes." I say tightly, swaying. "Quit glaring at Granger. She saved my life, I think." I don't, however, pull away. I lean into his hug; the adrenaline is fading away, and trembling is setting in. I just faced a _troll_. Junior dueler or not, I hadn't been prepared to go up against a troll. A _mountain troll,_ that is bigger than the average troll, had somehow managed to get into Hogwarts. If it hadn't been for Granger, that last swing might have let him get me.

That it didn't is dumb luck; sheer dumb luck.

"Miss Nott, Miss Granger; I am surprised." Professor McGonagall peers at all of us over her classes. "You both were very lucky tonight. I do hope you realize not many students, let alone first years, would have been able to take on a mountain troll."

We both smile at her weakly. Inwardly, it's another story. I want to scream in fury and righteous condemnation. It is _not_ our fault that we were cornered. How dare they endanger a school! Professor Quirrell is supposed to be the Defense Professor. Rather than knowing what to do with the giant beast, he looks ready to keel over. Hogwarts is supposed to be a safe location. It is not.

"Professor Snape," Theo says, pulling me closer with a clouded expression. "May I take Dorothea up to the Hospital Wing now, sir?" Once we receive his waved hand, my brother continues. "May I also request an owl be sent to my Father, or perhaps by floo? I believe he would like to know what happened."

* * *

Father is, apparently, very interested in knowing the shenanigans his children have gotten into. At least, that's my first thought when I see him step into the Hospital Wing. He must have just gotten back from abroad - he is still in his uniform. His dragon hide boots make little noise as his eyes take in everything about the room. It's enough to make me stand more at attention.

The moment his eyes land on us, his mouth turns. It's a brief, relieved smile followed by an angered frown. He takes long strides towards us, pulling his gloves off and sliding them into his pocket as he does so. I turn to look at Thea rather than concentrate on Father. She lays on the bed looking less miserable than she probably is. Madam Pomfrey forced her to switch into a small little dressing gown to stay overnight. After all, she had been 'sick' before the mountain troll, and the nerves must not have helped her at all. Besides, she's got a pretty nasty cut on her head that Madam Pomfrey fixed within seconds, but is "afraid of what damage might have been done."

"Dorothea," He says, reaching out and placing the back of his hand on her brow. "Did I not say I did not want a letter?"

"Forgive me, Father." She winces and glances down at her hands.

His mouth quirks at the corners, but he doesn't laugh. "It is no matter. How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts." She still doesn't look up. "It's gotten better since Madam Pomfrey gave me that potion."

He glances at me, waiting for me to confirm her problems. I nod. "We've both felt ill all day, Father. Dorothea was on her way to dinner mountain troll found her." I know why I'm lying for her. If there is anyone who loathes to hear about Mama more than either of us do, it's Father. Not only that, but I doubt he would be satisfied hearing why we have both really ditched classes.

Thea obviously knows I'm lying for her. She gets this odd expression on her face, looking up sharply and continuing with a slight wince. "Troll hide was tougher than I expected. I fired countless of spells at it with little damage; I should have realized. I _should_ have known what to do. I hadn't gotten there in my independent study, and Professor Quirrell hasn't quite discussed trolls in class."

Ah, the subtle art of directing the attention away from us and shifting the blame towards someone else; crafty.

"The question seems to be why there was one in the school to begin with." Father crosses his arms. "I owled Lucius Malfoy immediate after receiving Snape's call. I imagine it will be brought up at the next meeting."

"That's not all." I say, realizing that it's not the first creature that is inside the school. I hadn't discussed it with Father yet, but perhaps I should have."There is a cerberus on the third floor."

I'm lucky that he doesn't whirl around and peer at me for giving him the news. Father has an odd way of knowing where our thoughts are going. Instead, he summons two chairs and gestures for me to sit down, leaning back into it and looking at us both with contemplating looks. We sit in silence for five minutes - or try to. In the background, I can still hear Granger sniffling. At first, I thought he was going to ask us about it. When neither of us tried to offer an answer, he let it go.

"Nott." Professor Snape greets blankly, coming into the room behind Professor McGonagall.

"Hektor Nott." Professor McGonagall says sourly. "How are you?"

"Alarmingly disenchanted with the way you and the headmaster are running this school." He stands up, but does not greet her otherwise. He only acknowledges Professor Snape with a nod. I try to stand as well, but am stopped by a firm hand on my shoulder. "I trust you with my children, and I come to find that you have been harboring dangerous creatures within your institution. Is there a specific reason why, or should I just assume the headmaster has done so on a whim?"

"Mr. Nott!" Professor McGonagall scowls fiercely. "I'll have you know-"

"That my child was in no danger on her way to the _Halloween feast_?" Father finished, turning his direction towards her with a completely unimpressed look. "If it makes you feel better to lie, McGonagall, I will ask that you not do it at the expense of the students. I will not speak anymore on this matter to the deputy headmistress. Where is Dumbledore?"

'_She is not going to like us after this._' Thea bemoans.

'_She can be added to the list of Professors who don't._' I lightly shrug my shoulder. '_Professor Sprout already has it out for me._'

'_At least Flitwick likes us._' She does smile. My sister looks her best when she smiles.

"I'm afraid, Mr. Nott, that the headmaster is attending to the matter of the mountain tro-"

"I'm afraid, McGonagall, that that is not an acceptable." Father gestures for her to see her way out. "I'll meet with him personally, then. I assume you will escort me? I would like to make sure that my children _are_ well taken care of."

Professor McGonagall doesn't look particularly ready to let up, but Thea grabs her head. I only have just enough time to reach out and grab her hand when my head starts pounding. Father says something else - something that sounds spiteful and wicked at the same time - but I ignore it in favor of rubbing at my head with my free hand. I can see my twin doing the same thing with her free hand.

"That will be enough for now, McGonagall." Father dismisses her and peers down at us both. He gestures for me to climb into the free bed next to Thea and summons Madam Pomfrey with a wave of his hand.

* * *

Saturday, November 9th

"Dorothea, can we talk?" Granger shifts nervously.

Daphne and Harry both stop walking and stare at her incredulously. Honestly, I've been waiting for her to approach me for a while. She's been hanging around the edge of our study group since we were released from the Hospital Wing. But, I'd been surrounded by Theodore and the rest of the Slytherin. Today's the first day I've been in a small group.

It's only because almost everyone else is Quidditch obsessed. Even we were heading out to the game. I'd given Malfoy and Zabini my best deadpan when they suggested we all walk out there together. Scotland was positively chilly in the winter - I hadn't wanted to go at all. Zabini, bless his heart, only wanted to see the game. He had been donning a plain, black fitted robe with a dark gray cloak over it. The most Slytherin things he had on were the silver and green earmuffs. Everyone else, however...Draco and Harry in particular. It's almost as if Flint had threatened them if they didn't have on a laughable amount of house pride. I couldn't count myself among the few that managed to get away. I had been cornered after breakfast.

I _had_ been thinking amount smearing my toast with an absurd amount of marmalade when I was attacked by a woolen jersey being pulled over my head.

"For the love of Merlin," I hissed, managing to push whoever it was in front of me away and yank the stupid thing off.

Miles Bletchley grinned at me, rubbing his stomach. "What's this, princess?" He teased. "You can't be going outside dressed like _that_. You'll freeze."

I was - and currently am - in a forest green, long sleeved robe that Lady Malfoy had gifted me for my birthday this past year. My hair lay straightened over my shoulders with the ends curled in. It was appropriate enough for the cold castle - I even had a couple of minor warming charms on it. After breakfast, Daphne and I had been planning to head up to one of the abandoned classrooms on the fourth floor to practice some charms with Theo and Terry. None of us had wanted to go to the "big match".

"I'm not going outside." I said slowly, trying to hand the long sleeved shirt back to him. "You and I both know I'm not fond of the game."

"You're not going out there because you like the game." Adrian Pucey rolled his eyes. "You're going out there to support us."

"Why?" I challenged. "Everyone knows we'll win. The Gryffs may have a good Keeper and more-than-competent Chasers and Beaters, but their Seeker is pants. Higgs is better, I think."

"Oi!" I heard the fourth year complain from further behind. "I heard that, Nott!"

"Great!" I beamed, faking enthusiasm. "It means your hearing isn't impaired. Congratulations!"

A cloak is dropped on my shoulders, and Harry bumped into my shoulder with a grin. "It'll be fun. You need a break from studying, anyway."

"I don't want to go." I frowned, glaring at Draco and _daring_ him to try to get closer to me with the extra scarf he has in his hands. "It's cold, we have homework, and I don't even like Quidditch. Theo and I have been talking about practicing these spells for over a week."

"How can you possibly not want to go?" Miles looked incredibly offended. He fell backwards onto the couch in an overly dramatic fashion. "However will we win?"

"By making sure those _girls_ don't score on us." Flint shook his fist threateningly.

Pucey laughed and dismissed him with a wave of his hand. Not even fifteen seconds go by before he threw an arm over my shoulder and another over Daphne, who almost escaped what's going on. "Surely, we'll see you both in the stands, hmm?"

"It's freezing out there." Daphne said stubbornly, throwing his arm off of her and turning her nose up at the entire spectre.

"That's why we were trying to give you warmer clothes." Miles sats up, beaming. "If you don't want any old cloak, you can wear mine. It has a nice warming charm on it."

"So does mine." I countered, trying not to let my words come out too quickly.

I fail. I also feel my cheeks turning red and decide to look anywhere except at him.

I had successfully managed to get him to take back his jersey, but had been unable to convince him I didn't need his cloak. It hangs over me very unflatteringly, mostly because he _is_ taller than me and in the midst of puberty. Daphne and I ate breakfast slowly, enough for most of the Quidditch fanatics to file out. The only one who remained behind was Harry, and that was because he was the only one of the boys who could guilt us into actually going.

It was a good time for Granger to corner me, really.

"I suppose." I agree slowly, gesturing for the other two to go on. "What do you want to talk about, Granger?"

"I wanted to thank you." She held her head up proudly. "For the incident on Halloween. I...don't know how you managed to keep your wits about you."

"Listen," I suck in a breath. "Perhaps I've been unfair to you. You _are_ an insufferable know it all, but it can't be completely your fault. Has anyone bothered to explain to you the way the wizarding world works?"

I see her frown despite the distance between us. "What do you mean? Works in regards to what?"

"I assume your attitude is that of muggles. I assume because I don't actually know or care to know what they're like." I think. "Assuming that you're acting the same now as you would two years ago under whatever educational level, you need to change."

I see the flabbergasted look on her face. "Why do _I _need to change if the wizarding world is outdated?"

"Because of that attitude." I wave my hand at her. "And, the way you just said that. My culture is not _outdated_."

"Muggles are more advanced!"

"We're going to disagree there and on a lot of other points." I grit my teeth. "This is why you don't have many friends, Granger. You aren't trying to adapt to our culture. _You_ are new."

"I-"

"Look, I will get some books about our culture for you, if that will provide you with an incentive." I say flatly, crossing my arms. Doing so reminds me that I'm not in my own cloak and have somewhere to be. "Think about it. You know where to find me in the library."

Which is how I find myself in the stands with everyone else squished between Tracey and Daphne with the boys all in front of me. I do end up sharking Miles' cloak with Daphne as it fits me relatively big. We spread it over our legs as if it were a blanket. I even have my own black earmuffs on with a warming charm. My thin gloves have it, as well, as does every article of clothing I have on me. That doesn't make me stop wishing I were inside, though.

"_-a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet-"_

"Have you noticed?" Daphne asks boredly, staring down at her nails.

"_-Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes-"_

"Noticed?" I turn my head to look at her.

"Professor Snape." She supplies, rolling her eyes. "He hasn't been walking around Hogwarts. He hasn't been walking around the classroom, either. You haven't noticed?"

"You mean his limp." It's not a question. But the look I give her for bringing it up is.

"_-Quaffle taken by the Slytherins - that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger-"_

"Yes," Daphne nods, leaning closer. "I think it has something to do with the third floor. I saw him just now."

Catching her meaningful look, I stare at her with slightly widened eyes. "The cerberus. Father said he would bring it up with Lord Malfoy, but I don't think they've managed to do much yet."

"_GRYFFINDOR SCORES!"_ The Gryffindor announcer screams excitingly.

It draws us back to everything that's going on around us. The boys in front of us fall down onto the seats, glowering at the cheering crowd decked in gold and scarlet.I draw the cloak around us, and Daphne scoots closer. On my other side, Tracey leans into me and blows on her hands.

"COME ON, BLETCHEY!" Malfoy shouts.

"LET'S GO, SLYTHERIN!" Harry bellows out, cupping his mouth.

"Miles let one in?" I ask teasingly, knocking my knee into Blaise's back.

"It's because you don't believe enough." Blaise growls, throwing back his elbow to hit my leg.

"_Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds towards the - wait a minute - was that the Snitch?"_

Adrian drops the Quaffle.

"Pucey!" Tracey groans, throwing her arms up in the air. "What are you doing!"

"Looking for the Snitch, I think." I tilt my head to the side, crossing my arms in front of me. "I want to know what Higgs is doing."

Both Higgs and whoever the Gryffindor seeker is dive down towards the Snitch. Higgs almost has it - he's so close to closing his fist around it when one of the Gryffindor Beaters slam into him. Pucey might have lost his mind, but Flint and Montague senior have not. They don't manage to score much - just three before Higgs is thrown.

"Potter, go!" Malfoy pushes him towards the stairs as the rest of the house jumps to their feet in protest.

"FOUL!" You would think that we were all united in that second; even Daphne and I find ourselves screaming at the injustice of it all.

Madam Hooch speaks towards him angrily, shaking her head and pointing at the goal posts towards Slytherin.

"THAT'S NOT A RED CARD!" A Gryffindor boy shouts, waving his arms in the air.

[["_Mom - you saw that, right! That was a terrible tackle! She should have gotten a red card!"_]]

"_Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs will be substituted out for the remainder of the match. Reserve Seeker Harry Potter will now rejoin the game. Slytherin lead 40-10. Penalty to Slytherin, taken by Flint."_

From there, everything seems fine. Bletchley doesn't manage to keep a clean sheet. It's fine; neither does Wood. Harry circles the pitch, weaving in and out of the players and trying to keep the Gryffindor Seeker off his tail. Pucey managed to score twice and Flint thrice with Montague sr. providing most of the assists. Unfortunately, Spinnet and Bell managed to make a decent amount with assists by Johnson.

"Still want to leave, Nott?" Draco smirks, although it's short lived. Spinnet manages to steal the Quaffle away from Flint.

"Yes, I'm cold." I tear my eyes away from the game to knock my elbow against Daphne.

She nods her head and stands once more, raising an eyebrow at Tracey. The bespectacled girl blushes a little and shakes her head. "I think I'll stay."

We stare at her incredulously.

"If you're sure..." Daphne trails off, looking more than a little unsure.

"I am." She smiles. "I actually like Quidditch."

Neither of us quite manage to hold in our disgust.

* * *

AN: Hope you guys enjoyed! And, let me know if there was a word in there that hasn't been explained before. They might have gotten past me.

Adamas Sordida - Diamond in the Rough


	14. Fourteen

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Despite what this chapter may imply. I do own a lot of souvenirs, though!**

AN: _Again, this is normally the part where I thank the amazing _**GetWithIt**_ for being such a blessing. However, this chapter has yet been looked over. (Still a blessing, though!) So, please keep in mind that it's scheduled to have some changes._

_I just figured you guys would like to be able to read a small snippet from our neighborhood Boy-Who-Lived. _

**wolfzero7:** _Honestly, without trying to give too much away, probably a lot. Expect some identity issues, haha._

**Eliana34****:**_ Bear with me because my French is _not good_. __Sans trop en dévoiler, quelque chose qui lui est arrivé à lui faire oublier. Elle ne se rappelle certaines parties, mais plus elle vit sa vie comme une "sorcière" plus elle oublie qu'elle était une "moldu"._

**Guest:** _Okay! Haha. Hope this chapter's good for you, too!_

* * *

Harry I

Friday, December 21st

I never liked Christmas, not really. I never had anything to look forward to. At Hogwarts, things were different. One day, it was cold and wet, but manageable. The next day, my new home found itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid. I know this especially because my bed has a window right next to it that looks right out into the lake.

Imagine that. A few months ago, I wouldn't have thought that such a thing was possible. It's still so hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I'm at a wizarding school. Even months later, after piles of homework and 'extra-reading projects' that the twins 'innocently' got me into, and I can hardly believe it. There are _owls_ that are battling their way through stormy skies to deliver mail. Of course, Hagrid takes care of them before they go off again.

I like Hagrid. I know that Draco and Thea both turn up their noses whenever I bring up going to visit him. I get that they're high maintenance. Ron's told me so a couple of times, between warnings that they're evil and going to corrupt me. Neville's pretty good about defending them without me having to jump in too much, but it does get annoying. I've been told that I'm supposed to be a Gryffindor. That's why everyone still looks at me oddly - they're expecting me to be evil and to push down Hufflepuffs or something to make myself look tougher. Blaise told me that.

Then, he told me that he wanted to see if a friendship with a Hufflepuff wouldn't produce the "most frightening partnership in the world, Potter. Think about it - our ambition and their hard work. We'd be unstoppable."

Dorothea told him to shut up and focus on our homework, but the look in her eye made him smirk smugly.

Everyone in the common room has been talking about how excited they are for Yuletide to come. Parkinson's family, apparently, is in charge of the festivities this year. The older kids are a bit annoyed that she's been "going around the common room telling people what to wear like she's the bloody Queen", according to Daphne. All the blokes I know are excited to meet her older brother and have been bugging the twins for information about him. Apparently, he's a bit of a legend. I haven't completely figured out, but I think almost everyone is going. I know the twins are, as are Draco, Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle. Blaise would be going, but he's going on vacation to Italy and "No, Parkinson, I'm not going to be back in time. Quit nagging."

I'm staying at Hogwarts. There's no way I'm going back to the Dursleys. I'd rather have a common room and a dorm room to myself than go back. Besides, Ron is staying. I won't completely be alone. We can hang out in one of the empty classrooms the twin's secured for private use this year and play chess or something. Ron's crazy good at is, but so is Draco. I keep trying to get the two of them to play against each other - to see which one is the best. Neither of them want anything to do with the other, and Thea says the only reason they tolerate each other's presence at all is because I'm their friend.

Not that she particularly likes Ron, either. He spilled pumpkin juice on the sleeve of her robes once and still hasn't apologized, so she's holding a bit of a grudge. Blaise says that Ron's "an imbecile when it comes to mannerisms, but he's not a complete waste. There's potential."

Daphne likes to think that Blaise is planning to take over the world or something with the way he's been 'collecting' people.

Professor Snape came around last Monday to take names for who would be staying for the holidays. I was the first, and only, Slytherin first year to do so. There's two fourth years, a fifth year, and three seventh years that are staying. I overheard Draco whispering to Blaise and Thea that these were prominent half-bloods and "_muggleborns_" that were doing well, but that Parkinson's family was too "above" inviting. They nodded like it was a known fact and continued on a larger topic as if there was nothing to it.

"You're staying, then?" Thea prods at me after Potions, frowning. "I could owl Father and ask for permission for you to come, if you'd like."

"You'd have to get Theo to ask for you." Blaise snorts, shaking his head.

She shrugs her shoulder, but keeps her eyes trailed to my face. It's nice that she looks after me, but sometimes I feel like she's waiting for me to get myself into some sort of mess. Then, she gets disappointed when I don't get in trouble for anything. Professor Snape leaves me alone now in classes, now that I've partnered up with Draco. It's always a race to see who has the best potion - me and Draco, Thea and Blaise, or Neville and Granger. It used to be pretty clear who it was, but Granger has been trying harder in class to make up for the years of extra education my fellow Slytherin got.

I just kinda let Draco do whatever he wants. It's easier that way, and I don't have to hear him complain as much.

"I'll be fine." I promise her for the upteenth time. She doesn't look happy with my response, but she nods stiffly and takes it just like that. We're heading up to the library. If I had to be honest, I'd say we spend too much time there. Thea and Blaise like to take in every single fact, let alone how frantic the group seems to get when the twins are together.

I wasn't going to say anything, especially because I know it bugs them when it's brought up, but it's almost like they can talk to each other without actually looking or saying anything to the other. They just know. One time, Theo held his hand out, and Thea handed him a book all distracted. He just flipped to a certain page and started reading.

"Hi, Hagrid, want any help?" We're about to turn up to go up the staircase when I hear Ron. It's hard not to - he has the kind of voice that carries.

Draco opens his mouth to say something cutting, but Blaise elbows him with a dirty look. "Reign it in, Draco."

Thea and Daphne, who I didn't see walk with us, both give him dubious looks. By some miracle, the blonde manages to keep his tongue. He just looks pained to do it.

"Alright, Hagrid?" I call, smiling brightly and moving to stand closer to the tall man. "We don't mind helping."

"Nah. I'm all right." He grins at us, though. "Nice to see you gettin' along."

"It _is_ nearly Christmas." Ron says very matter-of-factly.

"Tell yeh what." Hagrid nods. "Come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat."

"Perhaps some other time." Thea cuts in with a chilly, polite smile. "We're off to the library to start on our homework. But, you're welcome to come along later, Harry. You already know where we'll be."

"Sure." I say, eager to look at the hall. "I'll catch you later then, yeah?"

Dorothea and Daphne link arms and walk away, whispering to each other and shaking their heads. They don't bother to look back down towards us. Draco and Blaise don't look remotely thrilled to be staying, either, and, after a second, Blaise turns and trails after the girls with an apologetic grin. Draco sticks around, but it looks like he sucked on a bad lemon.

I think the Great Hall looks amazing. There are more than a dozen Christmas trees towering around the corners of the room. Some of them had tiny icicles hanging from the branches, and the ones that didn't had the glitterings of hundreds of candles.

"How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asks nicely.

Draco looks worse at the thought.

"One." I answer when neither of the other two do.

"An' they in the library?" He shakes his head. "Bit keen, aren't they?"

"Oh, they're not really doing homework." I lean forward a little, trying not to laugh. "The twin's have got it in their head that there's something worth protecting on the third floor."

Ron rolls his eyes with me, and actually does start laughing along with me.

"How do yeh know about teh stone?"

* * *

He has this attempt to distract us that almost worked. Ron falls for it, and I find myself doing the same. Instead, he starts trying to ask questions about Christmas. Only, that "look" never leaves Draco's face. He's calculating something, trying to place something he's heard.

He spills it to the twins the moment he sees them.

"It can't-"

"Surely, they wouldn't-"

"They aren't supposed-"

"At what-"

Then, they stop talking and start making a lot of angry gestures. Theo's eyes narrow. The next second, he's sneering and throwing his hands up in the air.

"Fine, Dorothea." He sits back down in the chair and crosses his arms, lips pressed into a thin line. "Do whatever you'd like. You always do."

She tsks under her breath and shakes her head, not sitting down. "That's not fair, Theodore."

"Will you both quit?" Draco rolls his eyes. "Enough twin drama."

They both give him long, sharp eyes. It's really hard not to be creeped out. I know they're twins. I see them every day, but they've never looked more like each other than in that moment.

"Skáse." Thea hisses. "Af̱tó den sas aforoún."

"Oh, I disagree." Her brother says immediately. "I think it involves all of them."

It's the most unimpressed I've ever seen her. "I'm not going to do anything."

"Sure." He says unbelievingly. "Listen - Dorothea thinks it's the Philosopher's Stone, too. It's got to be some sort of bait. That's why there's a cerberus on the third floor, why Professor Snape was especially angry that week, and why the troll suddenly went missing, despite no one seeing it being taken out of the castle. The professors must have come up with some sort of protections."

He shuts up and looks around, waiting for someone to do something.

"And?" Daphne gives in finally, flatly.

"Erm." I start, slowly. "This is going to sou-"

"The philosopher's stone is a _legendary_ stone, Potter." Blaise starts in. "It's supposed to be capable of turning metals into gold _and_ it gives the owner the elixir of life. Whoever has the stone will never die. The only one in existence belongs to Nicholas Flamel. That's why it doesn't make sense that it's here, Nott."

He's directing his gaze at Thea.

"Oh, _I_ think it's a false stone. There's no way Flamel would be stupid enough to leave such a valuable artifact here." She states. "I also think we have better things to be focusing on than this. We _don't_ have enough information - _Theodore_ \- and it doesn't do us any good to be going out on limbs. Also, what are we supposed to do about it if we do? Get the stone ourselves?"

"Why not?" Draco grinned. "Why couldn't we?"

"Because you're not rich enough, Malfoy." She slaps her hand down on the table. "We don't need it. We don't even know if it's really here."

"So, why wouldn't we go see? You know how to get past a cerberus." Her twin says back just as hotly. "You _know_ you're curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat, Theodore."

"Meow." The look on his face is so deadpan that Thea's immediately flushes.

She doesn't stay a second longer, stuffing her books into her bookbag and gritting her teeth together. "If you _idiots_ want to go through with that, _fine_. Be my guest. I'm not going to risk my life for a _curiosity._ If you'll excuse me, I'd rather listen to Parkinson _complain_ about the stupid ball than any of this nonsense."

Daphne scrambles after us, but the rest of us stay here. Theo's face is passive only until she leaves, and then he massages his head.

"Sometimes, she just makes me want to hex her." He says slowly before grinning at us. "So, what do you think, gentlemen?"

"I think you're bonkers, and that you know better than to fight with your sister." Blaise says immediately.

I agree with him completely. I've never had the...chance to see Dorothea Nott really angry, but I know that it's not supposed to be a good thing. Besides, I'm a little confused about it. It's not very well known - because, after all, we're only first years - but Thea and Theo were said never to seriously fight. There were always a couple of playful arguments that normally had to do with academic work where they disagreed, but never I'm-leaving-because-you're-being-a-prat.

"She'll be fine. Think about it. There's got to be something worth getting down there." He waves her off, turning towards me with raised eyebrows and a grin. "Didn't you say the hat almost wanted to put you in Gryffindor? Think of this as an adventure."

"You want us to die." Blaise shakes his head.

"If we were to go with you, and I'm not saying we should," Draco says slowly, face schememing. "We'd have to come up with some sort of plan."

"Right." I agree. "Hope for the best, and prepare for the worst. But, also, I resent that you'd say that. I'm very much a Slytherin, thanks."

"Sure, sure." He shrugs. "I'm as much a Slytherin as you are a Gryffindor, so. You know. If it makes you feel better, we'll even somehow rope in the girls...And your Gryffs."

He waits for us to say something. Both my companions seem to weigh all of this together before nodding.

"Fine. We'll use the holiday to come up with some sort of plan. We'll be busy most of the time. Potter - do you think you and Weasel would be able to figure out way to beat a mountain troll that doesn't involve any of us being crushed?"

"Don't call him that, Malfoy." I sigh, but nod my head.

Great. More homework. I just hope Thea and Daphne aren't mad at me so that I can owl them with questions.

* * *

AN: And, here's another chapter for you guys. Let me know if you'd like to have some more chapter's from the point of view of others. It was kinda fun to step out of Thea and Theo's perspective. Just remember that most of it will be from the twin's point of views. (Also, let me tell you that I very much pictured and wrote the scene for the twin's fight, haha.

Skáse - Shut up.  
Af̱tó den sas aforoún. - This doesn't involve you


End file.
